Yoshi's Island 2: Xoshi's Story
by wanopio
Summary: Once aliens and something known as the oncoming evil start attacking the world, people of all walks of life start doing their best to set things right. It's one huge journey for warriors and sorcerers everywhere, especially for one Yoshi named Xoshi...
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

**Prologue**  
After all those run-ins with the bandits, the red coins, the giant monsters, the mini-games, the crying, the losses and the defeats alike, the journey had finally boiled itself down to what was destined to happen since the beginning of it: It was the fearsome battle between the green one, Yoshi, and the giant one, Bowser. Thanks to the magic of his royal vizier, Kamek, he was big enough to practically take on the whole world. Of course, to the average person, this would have all spelled inevitable doom. But Yoshi was far from average. But Yoshi didn't know this, truly, until this moment had come. Giant Yoshi eggs were the keys to winning this fight, but they definitely would not have been there had it not have been for his seven friends. In the background, away from the real action, the others were working hard to provide Yoshi with the supplies needed for victory. While Yoshi and the baby on his back, Mario, took it at the location pertaining to what little was left of the Koopas' ruined, royal castle, the others were distant enough to be away from the actual action, but not too distant to make a difference. The red one, Rachi, would find the Fat Guy and swallow him. He would use his inner system to transform it instantly into a giant egg for the pink one, Pinky, to take and hold it out for the yellow one, Yazzee, to tie a balloon to. The string would come from the light blue one, Azure, the balloons would come from the blue one, Oshi, and the air would come from the purple one, Pish. It was the brown one, Xoshi, who would work in the background to make sure none of Kamek's toadies could interfere with the raging battle. So Yoshi had plenty of projectiles to defend himself with and offend his opponent with. It eventually narrowed itself down to an even tougher fight involving less ground and more fireballs. Bowser was furious and his mood worsened with each passing second of the bout. Yoshi then noticed yet another giant egg floating up to greet him. He took it, positioned it with his right arm, closed one eye for the extra accuracy, then let 'er fly.

Through the air, the giant spotted Yoshi egg hurled. Unaware of it, for the final time, Bowser just kept charging forward towards his prize. It detonated upon impact into a whole mess of shell and yolk. "YES!!" shouted Yoshi, triumphantly. The beast then stopped his motion to let his final wound take over. With a stunned look of horror and defeat upon his face, he gave off an assortment of flashing, sparkling, flashes of light. The spell was broken.

The others discontinued their organized duties to run up to Yoshi and watch the display together. They could each feel the previous events that had come to pass flash before their eyes. Their heads were filled by memories consisting from the moment the baby fell from the sky, to the first time they met Kamek, to the fight against Raphael, the Raven, right down to the very castle itself. At last, after a round of red, orange, white, green, purple, and blue, the flashes ceased, and the monster disappeared. He reappeared a second later in mid-air, restored to his original size. He crashed down upon the very ground before the nine heroes. He lay there, eyes clenched shut, but twitching. Somehow, he managed to utter out a few last words.

"I'o get you fo dis, you gween donkey, if it's da wast t'ing I do!! Ugh..." at that, he slowly slipped away into a rite of unconsciousness. His vizier, Kamek, had finally returned via his trademark broomstick. A look of horror came across his face once he laid his bespectacled eyes upon the wounded Koopaling. He flew in a little closer for the advantages of everyone.

"Never, in all my life have I ever witnessed such performances of raw tenacity," he spoke. "You, my 'friends', have severely crossed the line. The Koopa Klan does not ever lose. Mark my words, sinister Yo'sters: Each and everyone of you will pay for what you did; for everything you did!! This is completely unforgivable. We will return..." At that, he then grabbed a hold of the little terror's tail and flew off, romantically into the moon-rise. Once again, the sun was already setting. It all ended the same way it began.

"Guys," their leader, Yoshi, spoke up. "None of us could have accomplished this on his own. It was a very long and very arduous task. For that, I shall thank each of you dearly."

For a response, he got a mixture of phrases like, "Oh, it was nothing," "Don't mention it," and, "What else are friends for?" They then stood for a little while to let it all sink in. Then little Mario tapped Yoshi on the shoulder to grab his attention.

"Hm?" he asked. Baby Mario pointed a little off in the next direction. There, hanging by a couple of loose threads from a tree branch, were their rescuees, baby Luigi and the stork from long before. "Oh, my goodness!! I can't believe this! It's them!!" Excitedly, they each hopped and flutter-kicked their ways on over, remaining careful to not fall into any bottomless pits.

It was such a pitiful sight to see them there, all tied up and helpless. They helped them out, though, so then another exchange of comments could have ensued.

"Finally!!" uttered the stork once he was back on his feet. "It was horrible!! Do you realize how long he kept me there?! Oh, poor Luigi must be dreadfully starved! I'm late!! Their parents must be terribly worried."

"So, you were with them this whole time?" said Yoshi.

The stork responded by saying, "Of course. It's a rather long story, you see."

"That's alright; we don't mean to delay your trip any further," said Pish. "You just go on ahead. It was nice working with you."

"Yes, quite," said the stork. Once the two babies were finally reuinited and re-bundled up, he picked them both up with his bill, then turned around, about to take off. But he had something else on him. "There must be some way I could repay the eight of you..."

"How 'bout some money?" suggested Yazzee. The others elbowed him.

"Really, it's not-" Yoshi tried saying, but was interrupted by the stork.

"Nonsense! Why, I've been meaning to get rid of these things for years!!" He then revealed a dusty, but still intact pair of shades. "Go on, take 'em; I don't need 'em. Neither does the doctor, for that matter."

"'Doctor'?" asked Yoshi.

"Yes, Doctor Kamenstein. He lives in Sarasa Land and is currently working on his latest invention: Genetically engineered treasurehunters. He's my boss, and he once stole these from his arch-nemesis, Foreman Spike."

"Really? He's a scientist?" said Rachi. "That's very interesting!"

"I'm more concerned about this Foreman Spike guy," said Oshi. "Tell us: Who was he?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I really must be going now. The parents are waiting..."

"At least tell us your name!" said Yoshi.

"It's... I don't really have one. According to my boss, I'm the 'Stork 64'," he said.

"Well, then, we'll just call you 'Storko'!" said Yazzee. "Is that okay with you?"

"Hm, 'Storko'; has a nice ring to it."

"Also, if you ever get time to tell us all about it, we'll be waiting, over there, at Yo'ster Isle." Yoshi pointed to the mass off in the distance.

"'Yo'ster Isle' it is. And now, I shall be off..." But just when he was about to leave once more, they stopped him again.

"Wait!" said Pinky.

"What is it this time?" he asked, beginning to lose his patience.

"Don't we get to say 'good bye' to the babies before you leave?"

"Oohh... Very well. But this'll be our last moment together; for now". He floated back down to fulfill their requests. One by one, they spoke to the babies, even though they were probably obviously too young to comprehend.

"Good bye, little one," said Rachi to Mario. "Ever since I first saw you, I knew you had good taste; red: The color of fire and passion. I know both will serve you well in the future."

"I guess this is good-bye," said Pinky. "We hardly knew eachother, but we had a lot of fun together. Just so you know, we won't ever forget either of the two of you. And that's that."

The yellow one, Yazzee, then spoke up. "You were a great companion. I always loved it whenever you grabbed that star and became 'Powerful Mario'. I know you'll go far."

Yoshi then took his turn. "Well, Mario, I guess this is it. We probably won't be seeing you ever again, but we helped you and your brother, and somehow, you returned the favor... I..." Yoshi couldn't find the right words. It was all just happening too fast. The tears started to form in his eyes as his voice croaked. "I'm sorry; it's just that I'm not used to these goodbyes. It's hard to describe; there's something unseen about you. I wish I knew what it was. Well... So long..."

Azure, being the mute one, could only take the tiny hands of the younger sibling in his own and lean forward to passionately press his fore-head against that of the other. Then he leaned back, patted the little infant's hands, stepped back, and waved. Pish was the next to go. "If only this scene weren't so sad. If only I didn't have a conscience. Young Luigi, you've got your whole life ahead of you. I really shouldn't be delaying you any further. Afterall, your parents need you way more than we do." He stepped back, too. "I wish you only the best of luck when it comes to that-which-has-not-yet-come-to-pass. 'Til we meet again." He then took a bow and let Oshi have his turn.

"I don't know who you are, who your brother is, who your parents are, who or what that stork is, who he's working for, who the arch-nemesis was, or where you came from or where you're going but... It's probably none of my concern. I can see that intelligence of yours just shimmering in your blessed eyes. May they never blind your path."

Finally, Xoshi stepped forward. "Fate; it's quite the unpredictable phenomenon, isn't it? Who'd have thought your brother would have just fallen right out of the sky? I live out each day uncertain of what's to come. But no matter what I do, it will always be there for me. Invisibly and mutually, it will accompany you, too, Luigi. And so will we. But remember: You must always live in the present. For yesterday is unchangable, intangible, and the future continues to become the present with each passing second. May the power of the stars be forever on your soul. I bid thee farewell." At last, the goodbyes were over and "Storko" was off. The eight of them waved until the moment came and they each turned around to slowly make their ways back over to their homeland. That march of theirs was mixed with many emotions: Happiness over the success of their mission, sadness over the departure of their friends, and pensiveness over Kamek's last words.

_Fate,_ thought Xoshi to himself. _Fate, indeed..._

**Chapter 1**  
As the Stork 64 (earlier renamed Storko) drifted his way through the post-dusk sky, few were aware of just how closely their actions were being monitored. One of the many great things that the planet, Plit, has to offer is how it has so much more to offer than just a bunch of white dots irregularly placing themselves amongst the blackness of the sky. Plit has two moons: One of them, as odd as this may sound, actually is crescent-shaped. It is where bizarre occurances such as inter-dimensional travel and "special" things go on. The other one is a pentagon where prayers get answered. To some, it is known as the "Space Zone", to others, it is known as the "Star Road", to some individuals, it is the "Star Street", and in other cultures, it is known as "Star Haven".

Yes, it was a magnificent realm of only the most spectacular wonders existing ever so high above the clouds. Its purple surfaces and structures were all blessed with the gaurdian angels of the planet, the Star Kids, as well as the glitter and such. Deep within the very center of this location lay the heart of it all: A sanctuary where only the most elite of wish-granters resided in and the purest of water flowed: The revered, Seven Star Spirits.

At the time, the seven of them consisted of the following: A plant-elemental by the name of Nay-Charr, an ice-elemental named Blizzarr, an air-elemental going by the name of Earhar, a fire-elemental that went by Pyrar, a water-elemental named Seastar, a time-elemental addressed as Mummar, and lastly (yet, actually also leastly, in a way), a neutral-elemental ironically named Eldstar. They actually went in that one particular order, from eldest to youngest. That made Nay-Charr the highest of the highest, of course. She was a green Star Spirit that wore a scarf of leaves. Her skin-color showed the pattern a man would see if he were to observe the wavy lines that trees form when they are made into beds, and/or other pieces of upholstery. Being female and so high-ranking, she not only watched over the mortals of the "real world", but also the other six Star Spirits. Blizzar was a male donned in a fur hat, a scarf and a pair of snow-boarding goggles to complement his sky-blue tone. He was the one with a real "chill-out" kind of personality. Earhar had a gap in her teeth to go with her pilot's helmet. She, too, wore a scarf. She could have been compared to the Goddess of Adventure. Pyrar's skin lay somewhere annoyingly between pink and orange so it was hard to tell which it was. His facial features consisted of a tightly closed mouth, droopy eyes, and a firm pair of flaming red eyebrows to represent his seriousness. Seastar was one to be considered beautiful by other Stars. Her skin-color was light pink and she wore an aqua-colored bow fastened to the top point of her star-shaped body. She tended to be a little more relaxed than the others on a regular basis. Mummar was a Star Spirit almost completely wrapped up in bandages, not unlike, well, a mummy. He wore an hourglass around his neck and only his two little eyes could have been made out. Lastly, Eldstar was a yellow Star Spirit with a healthy black mustache with a nice pair of eyebrows to go with. He was the pensive, philosophical one.

Their next meeting was just about to begin as they gazed upon the globe of magic amidst the center of their temple-like room, just above the altar of that room, which held their treasure, the omnipotent Star Rod. They were observing the stork as it flew its way through the clouds and between the mountains. Beneath the three-dimensional image, names could have been made out like "Yoshiki Haruhana", and "Shigeru Miyamoto". The ending credits were still being displayed before the Star Spirits as Nay-Charr was the first to speak. "Brothers and Sisters," she said. "What you are witnessing is far from the ending; it is merely the beginning; the beginning of the beginning."

"With all due respect, Nay-Charr, what is this you speak of?" Pyrar was the one who said that.

"Yes, I, too would like the answer to that question," said Seastar.

"Same here, and here," murmured a few of the others. She picked herself back up with a little more elaboration. "Fellow Star Spirits, I've kept this from you until now: A higher power is at hand here; one not even I can confirm on. The entire spectacle regarding the Koopa Klan, the Yoshi Clan, and the Mario Clan, was not in the least one of coinciding occurances."

A few more murmurs ensued. "What do you mean?" said Blizzar.

"I meant what I said, and already, I have said too much. It's a rather complicated plan, you see, and I'm afraid I am not allowed to let you in on any further details." Of course, this resulted in a few annoyed arisings from the other members of the council. "Please, understand; but I assure you it's all only in the best of intentions. I only ask that you concede to it so the cards can be played out correctly. Perhaps, when the time comes, I, too, shall have the light unveil before me. But alas, now is not the time."

"Well, then, what is it time for?!" said Pyrar, a bit more than a little ticked.

"Patience, Pyrar, patience. The next step in our divine plan shall be to construct a seven-some of magic wands, each of them with our own respectable powers to behold. Each one shall be fought with against tyranny and for the side of justice. They will in the end, I promise you, form a new and improved world of balance."

"And then what?" asked Blizzar, again.

"Each of them will be given to a man; seven mortals. Only one among us knows of their exact whereabouts as well as what has given them the Divine Right to wield each one. These men will rise to power and thwart the oncoming evil that is approaching."

"And who is this that is among us you speak of, my lady?" said Eldstar, for the first time.

"He was the same Star Warrior who once smote the Shy Gang. The one to carry out this mission shall be..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**  
While Kamek was taking care of things back at the castle, the real owners, Bowser's parents, Gorroh and Helga, were enjoying a vacation on their latest weapon, the Koopa Cruise. It was a big ship done over in mostly green with their logo on the side, of course. Gorroh was in his personal room, which, of course, was particularily bigger and more fancy than the others. He was at his desk writing something.

_"...'My liege! Please; take me away from these ingrates!!' Shmy Guy shouted. His 'queen' had but one thing to say to him..."_

He paused to chew the top of his pen a little before writing the rest out.

King Gorroh Koopa; he was a massive reptile donned in a red shell with maroon-colored hair to go with. "Hmm..." he said out of contemplation. Just then, his wife, Helga, the queen, waltzed in.

"Dear," she said to him. "I'm back from the massage tables. You really should go there sometime."

"Really?" He looked up from his work to face her as she strode torwards him. "So, tell me: Is it mutual? Do they like getting those skilled hands of theirs punctured by your lovely spikes?" The two of them laughed at the comment. Helga was a shorter, thinner Koopa than him. Her shell was green and her hair was a blazing red.

"Oh, you..." she said simply. She leaned in closer to examine his activity. "How are the memoirs coming along?"

"Splendid. I may have written myself into a corner, though..."

"Let's have a look..." At that, she picked up the page he was just on and started reading at some point. "Hm, I see. I must say the part when the shadowy figure reverted back to its female human form was a nice touch. I'd say at this point they'll be needing another line from your villainess here; perhaps something like, 'and one of you has decided to switch sides'. You know, to wrap up the speech and get the other characters all fried up."

"That's brilliant!!" He then picked the pen back up and started scribbling. After a second or two he said, "Wow. This writes itself..." Then he put it down and got up. He made his way over to the table with the liquor. He poured two fancy-looking glasses. "You know, Helga, you've always had a knack for coming up with only the greatest of lies."

She meandered on over and took the glass he had held out for her. "'And that's why I married you'. Yes, Dear, I've heard the tale before." They laughed again and drank from their glasses. Once both were downed completely, they simultaneously turned to face eachother, threw their beverage containers aside, absentmindedly, complete with a few shattering noises as they hit the floor, then they slowly advanced towards one another. Soon the two of them united themselves once more in a passionate embracement through their hugs and kisses. This typical make-out scene continued on further until a knock ensued at their door.

"Come in," said the Koopa King. In walked a red Koopa Troopa.

"Sir, your son and the royal vizier have just arrived. They-"

"-WHAT?!? What on Plit would they be doing in a place like this?!" Gorroh and Helga unlocked themselves so he could make his way on over to the door, which the troopa was just in front of.

"They had a bit of trouble back at the castle and knew where to go."

"Well, that makes sense. But the point was NOTHING should have happened while we were away!!" He was out the door and onto the deck at that point with his wife trailing just behind him. She pushed right past the red messenger.

"Oh, excuse me," she uttered unto a slightly bewildered Koopa Troopa. On the deck, the Koopa tyrants were greeted by a good number of servants ranging from variously other-colored Terra Pins to Sailor Bros.. In the center of it all, indeed, was their most trusted vizier, the blue-garbed Kamek, and their son, Bowser, the prince. They pushed their ways through until they were in the middle of a few words that were being exchanged between the Magikoopa and a green Shelled Warrior.

"Yes, a Maple Syrup would do nicely. Ah! King Gorroh, my liege. Thank DAD you're here," he said once the other participant left to get the recovery items.

"Kamek! What happened?!" He was getting worked up since the base was left in the hands of Kamek, the man himself, while the others were away enjoying their vacation. Kamek was a trusted one, alright, but obviously the only reason why he would have returned would have been if it was an extra, extra emergency. While Kamek was explaining it to him, the mother, Helga, was minding her unconscious son through a manner of hysteria.

"I would have consulted with you on an earlier basis, Sire, but you two really were in need of some time off." As he was saying this, some of the other Magikoopas of the ship were busy picking up and carrying off the young tyrant, since they were the ones specializing in the medicinal arts. A blue Koopa Troopa was busy guiding Helga to their room. "One night, taking place not much long after the two of you left with some of the cruise minions, I had a dream. I was being guided through a temple of solid gold by a creature that looked like a towering, humanoid owl. Once we made it to the altar, he then showed me an orb of magic in the very fabric of the air just above that altar. It first showed the image of a stork flying through the air with two infants in his bill. Then there was the image of the same two babies, one of them wearing a red cap, the other, a green one, sitting on the front step of... Some greatly unrecognizable asylum. Then there was the image of two full-grown men, wearing the same hats, with plumber outfits to match, might I add, overthrowing a Koopa with a green shell and red hair. The last sequence showed the image of the stork, once more," at this point, there was less of a crowd polluting the space of Gorroh and Kamek. They had returned to their workstations. "I kid you not, Sire, it was far more than a dream; it was an omen. I couldn't let it happen to the Koopa Klan!! I left things in the hands of Kammeron and sped off on my broomstick to change the future. I used my magic to cross over to the Light World, and there they were!! With a definite 'THE BABIES ARE MINE!!' I snatched the two of them, leaving the stork to spin in midair. However, it wasn't until I had returned to my lair when I realized that I had only one of the twins on me: Luigi Mario."

At that point, Helga returned to rejoin her husband and the advisor. "It's just a few bumps and bruises. My apologies for missing out on the story. Would it be too much trouble to have it repeated?"

Gorroh sighed. "No, my dear. In fact, why don't we start this conversation over in our room?"

"Yes, that sounds fair." They turned to leave, but were soon interrupted by the same green Koopa Troopa from before.

"Your Maple Syrup, Sir," he said, handing the bottle to Kamek.

"Thank you," he said, and the three of them headed on back...

* * *

Storko drew ever so much closer to his destination with each flap of the wings he made. Down below, he could see the four-part kingdom of Sarasa Land amongst the waters of the endless ocean. He swooped down to get a closer look so the specific location he was looking for would come into view. It was set atop the edge of a cliff. A dome-shaped observatory sat lying in wait for him with the lights on. Like before, the stork lowered his altitude and became level with the doorbell. He pushed it with his long beak, then stood on the front-step waiting for his master to open it up. "I'm coming!!" he heard the mad scientist say. Finally, he opened up the door. Doctor Kamenstein was what looked like a Magikoopa wearing a white lab-coat, hence forming what they would call a Madscikoopa. "Yes, how may I-" he stopped himself in mid-sentence upon realization. "Where were you?! Did the princes make it back safely?!" He was hysterical.

"Yes, Doctor, they did. How exactly that is true would be a long story," his stork responded.

"Well, then, don't waste anymore time, now, we can talk about it indoors. Besides: Your dinner's getting cold!!" With that, the mad scientist stepped aside for Storko to walk through while he held the door open. Once that was over with, he closed it and the two of them made their ways on over to the "kitchen". It was a rather metallic room, chrome like everything else was in his "house". It had all the necessities required in order for it to actually be called a kitchen, complete with the counter, the stools, the refridgerator, and the automatic food-making device, which was the bulk of the "kitchen". He made for himself a cup of coffee while Storko hopped back into his oversized cage in the corner where his birdseed laid in wait. As soon as he started pecking at his "cold dinner", the Madscikoopa got started once more. "So, tell me," he took a sip of his coffee, sitting down on one of the stools he pulled up to listen. "How come you're so late? You'd better have a good excuse."

Storko finished swallowing the first round of his dinner before responding. "Oh, I assure you, Doctor, I do have a good reason; it's as good as they get, if I do say so myself..."

"Well, go on then." He took another sip.

"Well, see, it's like this: On my way back to the vacationing spot of the King and the Queen, I was attacked by this blue thing that just rushed at me out of nowhere and practically knocked the wind out of me. Man, was I dizzy. Once I came out of my daze, I made only the worst of realizations: The babies were gone."

"Oh, dear."

"Yes, I was quite panicked. I tried looking for them, but I just didn't know where to begin. There was a rock here, an island there, a mountain in the other direction... After a little while, I thought it almost might as well have been best for me to just give up on the mission altogether and head on back to tell you the bad news."

"But they did make it back safely in time, correct?!" He tended to be a little tense at all times, being the mad scientist that he was.

"Yes, Doctor, and I'll get to that in a moment. As I was saying, just when I was about to give up, these... Hooded, red things with buckteeth and glasses-"

"-HEY!!"

"It meant nothing, Doctor, I assure you that."

"Well... Yes, quite. Just be a little more careful next time."

"Yes, Sir. They had these propellors on their heads to make them fly and they came up to me for some reason. I tried to go around, but the five of us were much more than merely a couple of parties coincidentally headed in the opposite directions of eachother's ways. Boy, was I wrong! They started attacking me! I just didn't understand why! All I could do was take the hits while at the same time try to maintain my airborne-ness."

"'Airborne-ness' is not a word."

"No, it's not, but you catch my drift. They knocked me out and the next thing I knew, I was in a... Nursery of some sort. The plant-kind, not the baby-kind, mind you, although there was one right next to it, come to think of it..."

"Oh, oh, oh; speaking of 'nurseries', I- Oh, I'm sorry, go on."

"No, you can tell me, would it have anything to do with-"

"-Nevermind, nevermind. I'll tell you later. You just finish your story."

"Alright, then. Anyways, I spent a good deal of time hanging upside-down from that tree with one of the other two babies next to me, still swaddled up in his white bundle, and all. I could never tell if it was the red one or the green one because he was just always there. Except when they took him to do some other things, but anyway, he would always be there whenever he did anything bad, but I was a different case, so I was there, 24/7, with nothing to do besides plead with the gaurds, sing the 'bottles-of-beer' song, and/or think about questions that all started with the phrase, 'what if'."

"You poor things."

"Oh, it was horrible!! Well, at least they kept me fed. But the food was horrible, too. My assumption was that the baby wasn't really having it much better, and after such a long time came to pass, there was havoc everywhere!! They decided to keep the baby next to me until they got the chaos cleared up. Apparently, the castle was being invaded. It was kind of like a dream come true since I didn't know how else they were going to rescue me and the baby. The next thing I knew, the place started quaking and there was this gigantic Koopa Kid off in the distance. He demolished the place!! I could see eight Yoshies trying to fend off the monster. The green one had the other baby on his back!! Since it was the red one, I found out which one I had through deduction, of course; the Luigi one, to be more precise. Oh, man, that was one fierce battle. But once the green guy dealt him the final blow, the Koopa Kid exploded and this miniature version of him took his place. They said a few things, and then, finally, they came over to our rescue..."

* * *

"So, lemme get this straight," said Gorroh once the three of them were back inside the big room, sitting down to talk matters over. "You had a vision that these two plumbers would eventually ruin the Koopa Klan, right?"

"Correct, Sir" chided the Magikoopa.

"So, your plan was to recruit them?"

"Yes, Sir. That was the plan. It was either that, killing them, or admitting defeat. As you can see, my preference was to upgrade our army even further through their recruitments."

"Even though they would have acted more like our other two sons rather than the latest new soldiers," said Helga.

"I suppose so, but that's about the gist of the story."

"Well, one way or another, we can't allow this to happen," said Gorroh. "Kamek, as soon as Bowser gets rested up, I want the two of you to go out there and look for those babies while I send a few of our crewmembers back to repair our castle. When that time comes, you'll find us in the Hidden Fortress of the Clattagin Woods. But, for now, I must have a word with the pilot of this ship. Is that all clear, Kamek?" He got up out of his seat.

"Well, number one: I don't understand why Bowser has to come with, and number two: I don't think they're called 'pilots'."

"He'll be coming with because it'll help him develop vengeance and fighting skills. Trust me, the experience will serve him well. It did for me..." He turned around and left the room leaving both Helga and Kamek behind. Kamek removed the cork of his Maple Syrup and took a quick swig of it...

* * *

"Well, if you hadn't have done it, someone else would have. I really have been meaning to get rid of those wretched sunglasses. They were such a painful reminder..." said Dr. Kamenstein as he led his stork through the halls of his dome. They stopped just before a certain door. "'Storko', hm?" he said, turning to face the bird.

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, then. Wait until you lay eyes upon this and the names I gave them," said the Madscikoopa. Ever so carefully, he turned the knob and pushed it open as not to make any sound. Once he was in, he beckoned "Storko" forward so they could have a look. The room starred two cribs. One of them had a baby with a yellow cap while the other one had a blue cap. Both of them were sound asleep. "I call them 'Wario' and 'Waluigi'," he whispered.

"Oh, they're so precious," said Storko, about as quietly as the doctor had done. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why 'Wario' and 'Waluigi'?"

"Well," he moved out of the room with Storko following. Once he closed the door, they started walking again, this time, they took a different course. "You are familiar with that one book I have on me, correct?" he said, this time with his voice raised a little bit higher. "The one entitled 'Words of the Past'?"

"Yes, Doctor, I know that one."

"Well," once again, they were at another door. Dr. Kamenstein fumbled around with his pockets a little until he found what he was looking for. He flipped through his ring of keys a little until he found the proper one, which he used to unlock the door and open it. "I named them what I named them after an ancient term," they were inside and the room turned out to be some kind of miniature library, loaded with shelves of about a million books, not all of them in their respective places. Some were on the floor while others came in stacks. He then made his way over to a podium of some sort. He bent down, picked up one of the books, then set it atop the podium and started flipping through it. "This term... It came... From an ancient language spoken by the legendary Spritelings... Or was it the Ravens? Ah-HA! Here it is," he placed his finger on a particular paragraph. "', pronounced "wa", ancient word coming from the language of the Stars,' oh, yes. I see. 'Coming from the language of the Stars, meaning fixed, upgraded, recent, new and/or improved'." He snapped the book shut. "'Wario' and 'Waluigi': The new and improved versions of those babies you took care of a little while ago."

"You mean Mario and Luigi?"

"Precisely," the two of them got up and walked out of the room. Dr. Kamenstein locked it once more and stowed away his keys.

"Why must you always lock it?" asked the stork.

"You can never be too careful." They started walking down the halls once more. "Besides: It's not just you and me anymore, we've got the babies to worry about from now on. They are, after all, the ultimate treasurehunters." They came across another door for the Madscikoopa to fumble around with, what with his keys, and all. Again, he found the right one, unlocked the door, then stepped inside. "At least, that's what I want them to become..." They were then inside the mad scientist's lab. They made their ways on over to the table in the middle where a whole bunch of blue prints lied in wait.

"You mean they could be failures??"

"Let's hope not!" said the doctor. He picked up a few of the blue prints, then flattened themselves off on the table before them. They showed all kinds of pictures and diagrams decorated with various lines and words and numbers, all of them done in white. He was focused on the one that showed the front-views and side-views of two scary-looking men. One of them was short and fat while the other one was tall and scrawny. "Behold," he started up again. "Once those boys have reached the peaks of their evolution, this will be what they'll look like."

"Frightening."

"I know! Look at this: They've got everything!! Pointy ears for hearing things within a ten-mile radius, sharpened eyesight for even the darkest of evenings, prodigious, pink noses to sniff things out... Everything!!" He put down the blue prints. "Currently, they're looking pretty good. But you can see why I don't want them to be failures."

"Yes, Sir." Just then, they heard the doorbell ring. DING DONG! They also heard the sounds of two babies crying.

"I've got to get that thing fixed," said Dr. Kamenstein. "Storky, would you mind answering the door for me? I'll take care of this one..."

"Yes, Sir." As the mad scientist ran off, Storko then made his way over to the front-door where their next guest lied in wait. "Yes?" he said as he opened up the door. There, standing before him was this young woman and her two children, one male and slightly younger than his sister, the female one.

"I'm sorry if this seems rude in the least," said the woman, apparently the mother of the two children. "But we are in grave need of some shelter and we didn't know where else to turn."

"Oh, well then; come on in." Storko beckoned inside the three-some.

"Thank you, so much," she said. Once they were all seated, Storko got the conversation going.

"So, tell me: Who might you be, and what brought you here?"

"Well, my name is Marilyn Ice. These are my children, Tessa and William."

The two of them responded through a combination between a "Hello" and a "Hi". Storko replied through an "It's a pleasure to meet the three of you. I am called 'Storko'. This is where me and the doctor reside; Doctor Kamenstein."

"'Kamenstein'? I've heard of him!!" said the woman.

"He's a few rooms over, minding the babies."

"Babies?"

"Yes. He created them. It's a long story. Yours, please?"

"What? Oh, yes, of course. It's like this: We come from Gana Village. We were just finishing up the last bits of our chores when these evil clowns arrived. The villagers had little choice but to evacuate. My husband, Christopher, was one of the few they managed to capture."

Storko let out a "Hmm" when Dr. Kamenstein suddenly whipped himself out of nowhere from behind the corner over there. He spoke five words: "Did you say, 'Evil clowns'??"

* * *

A yellow Koopa Troopa with a scar going across his left eye was the one steering the ship. Gorroh walked in to put the first few parts of his plan in motion. "Arris, head the ship towards the Clattagin Woods," he said.

"Yes, Sir," the Koopa Troopa, named Arris, said. From a distance, the ship's turning around to head its way off into another direction was noticeable. They were being watched by a mysterious someone who was seating herself on her broomstick.

"Ah, so that's where they're going. They can run, but they can't hide. Not from the most beautiful koopa in existance, they can!! Bleh heh heh heh heh heh hehh..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
"Oh, I am so glad our boys made it back home, safely," said the mother of the Mario Bros., who was also the queen of Mario Land. As a Mario, her hair was brown and curly and put back in a ponytail with a black hair-tie. Her eyes were blue as were those of her husband, who was tall and thin. His black, curly mustache formed an almost W-shape, since it "bumped" twice at the bottom. It was noon the next day and they were talking amongst themselves inside what they called their "home away from home", a mushroom house in a mushroom village, near the beachy outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom. The mother was holding Luigi while the husband was holding Mario.

"But why did they disappear?" asked the man.

"I have no idea. Perhaps it has something to do with a bird? I mean, we did come across those feathers in the other room."

"Does it matter, dear? The point is we got them back and we have nothing more to worry about. As far as I'm concerned, it could have been aliens that were behind their absences!"

"I suppose you're right, but I suppose I'm right, as well. There were feathers there and the news has been talking about space aliens recently."

"Have they, now?" He moved his way on over to the television and turned it on. The screen showed the image of a Toad talking about something.

"-Is only a matter of time. In other news, Castle Koopa has just been demolished! Repairs are currently under way, and, oh, what a sight it is! Right now, we're having a word with the head Magikoopa, Kammeron! Take it away, Nosey T.!"

The image switched on over so the panel that once occupied the space of the T.V.'s upper, right-hand corner then took up the whole screen. "Thanks, Spike. We are here at what was once the gothic architecture, Castle Koopa! So, tell us, Kammy: What could have caused such a disaster?" He shoved his microphone in the beak of a blue Magikoopa that was in the foreground of a bunch of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and other Magikoopas, all of them working hard to repair their base.

" Sigh . First off, 'Shnozzy', it's Kammeron, not 'Kammy'. Secondly, whatever it was that reduced us to this state is none of your business."

"And it's Nosey, not 'Marzee'! Back to you, Ike."

"It's Mike. Next item: Studies have shown that you can prevent poisoning by consuming this Refreshing Herb! Speaking of herbs, if there's anyone out there who hates vegetables, it's the r-" He turned off the T.V. at that point.

"It's still the same old nonsense if you ask me."

"No, wait! Turn it back on! I think he was about to say something about the aliens!!"

With a sigh, her husband turned it back on. "-Ange circles have been appearing in Flower Fields! Right now, we're going to go back over to Nosey, here, so we can get a little more insight from one of the resident Bub-ulbs! Nosey?"

"Thanks, Mickey! So, Bubs, any comments regarding the strange circles that have been ruining your crops lately?"

"Um, I didn't say my name was 'Bubs'. I said it might have something to do with the ali-"

"-You don't say!! Well, it was nice talkin' to ya, Shrubs. Back to you, Michelle."

"It's Mike!! In other news, Lava Lava Island has recently been undergoing some serious-" CLICK! Once again, the T.V. was off.

"Nutcases," muttered the king, "but I'll give that they did mention something about 'aliens'."

At that point, Luigi was already asleep in her arms. "Honey, you don't suppose there would be some kind of connection between the aliens, the castle, and how our children disappeared?"

He sat down across from her at the kitchen table. Mario was still resting on his right arm. "At this point, anything could be the case. But, like I said earlier, it probably doesn't concern us, and the important thing is we got'em back."

"Yes, dear," she said looking down at her green-capped son. "But I just can't shake this feeling off that we have an enemy."

"Whatever it is," said her husband, leaning closer to her. "I'm sure we can take care of him."

"I suppose you're right," she said. "Again..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**  
Xoshi was in a cave with what looked like a Viking. They were standing before a wall with one big fancy-looking circle embroidered into it. It vaguely resembled a pentagon, but it also looked like some kind of official seal of notary. It was decorated with a dozen spectacular jewels.

"Ah, yes," said the man. "Just what we've been looking for. Xoshi, I'll need that pendent of yours."

Xoshi complied by removing from his saddle the very item, then handed it in the muscular hand of his companion. "Stand back!!" he said. Xoshi obeyed that request as well. The Viking stood just a few feet before the center of the symbol, then outstretched his right hand with the pendent still in it. He closed his eyes dreamily then started reciting something: "Hear me, great Star Spirits; lend me your power! Vanquish the evil that stands before us." As he was saying this, both the pentagon and the pendent started glowing a bright green. Upon realization, the Viking then opened up his eyes, gazed at the spectacles before him, then, as though it were his cue, he moved his way up to the symbol then stabbed the point of it into the center of the wall's pentagon. Once he did that, he stepped back then let an assortment of differently colored lights squeeze their ways out of the prison that the symbol seemed to form for them. One by one, rays burst out. Both Xoshi and the Viking were covering their eyes just to make sure it wouldn't blind them. Soon, they started feeling a horrendous shaking as something started to split open.

_Brace yourself,_ said a voice inside Xoshi's head.

And then he awoke. He and his seven other friends had finally made it back to their homeland, Yo'ster Isle, and Xoshi had just spent the last few hours in the hammock of his leafy hut. "Man," he said to noone in particular as he arose from his bed with a hand against his head. "What a crazy dream." He got up out of his hammock to perform his daily morning routine, keeping the dream in mind the whole way. Just when he was about to leave from underneath the shelter of his home, a coconut flew out of nowhere and hit him squarely in the center of his gigantic Yo'ster shnoz. "OWW!!" he exclaimed. He picked up the fruit in one hand while rubbing his sore nose with the other. "Who threw that?!" he demanded.

"Oh, geez, Sir, I'm so sorry," an orange Yoshi and his miniscule son ran up to him. "We were just playing catch and things got out of hand, huh?"

Xoshi handed the coconut back to him and said, "Just... Be a little more careful next time."

"Thank you, Sir!" he said, and the two of them ran off to continue their activity. Xoshi finally walked out and waded his way through the usual set of morning Yoshies. Some of them were gathering fruit, some of them were target-practicing with their eggs, and some of them, like the two he just encountered, were playing games with eachother. He kept on walking until one particular Yoshi caught his eye. He was right there, leaning his reptillian body against one of the four poles holding up the hut he was nearby. The light blue skin color and the bare feet were recognizable, but, then again, so were the sunglasses. Well, they were and they weren't at the same time.

"Boshi??" asked Xoshi.

"You got that right," said the azure Yo'ster in that deep voice of his. "You like my new shades? I got them a little while ago from a friend of mine. But if you want 'em, I suppose I could let 'em go for a little one-on-one, if ya know what I mean..."

"Uh..."

"And if you wanna go one-on-one you gotta bring the cookies! Catch my drift?"

Boshi had always been a little full of himself, what with being the "boss" and all. But those sunglasses of his seemed to bring about even more of his ego than what was already there! That was what was both recognizable and unrecognizable at the same time. "Boshi, you feelin' alright?" Xoshi asked.

"Better than ever, my brown friend! So, what's your story? You're looking as though you just got hit by a train, or something." Boshi was referring to the sore spot on Xoshi's nose and his head.

"Oh," he replied, a bit taken aback. "Well, you know, it's been a rough couple of weeks and the morning's not exactly doing any better. I just had the craziest dream last night."

"Ya don't say."

"Yeah, it had me, a cave, some weird-looking symbol on the wall, a pendent, and... This Viking-guy."

"That sounds well and all interesting, but you know what they say: 'It was just a dream'."

"Yeah, but you know what they also say: 'Sometimes, dreams know more than we do.'"

"Whatever, Xosh," said Boshi, referring to his friend as though he actually had a shorter name to go by. "I don't go by all that Hippie-stuff, though."

"Suit yourself," said Xoshi as he began to walk off. Boshi called to him from behind, though.

"Remember, you gotta bring the cookies!! I'll be waitin'!!" Xoshi turned around temporarily to give him a quick salute, then he turned back and continued his journey.

His feet carried him into the mere entrance of the woods. He kept on moving, careful to not make any insolent actions as he was maneuvering around the fallen sticks and the growing plants from beneath the soles of his Yo'ster shoes. Eventually, he managed to get himself through the obstacle course so he was then greeted by the next opening. Everything seemed to take on a bit of a yellowish-green glow since this all took place beneath the leaves of the trees that grew quite incredulously high. He was in the meadow but a few steps before his destiny. He was greeted by Yoshi who was just returning from some fruit-gathering. "Oh, good morning, Xoshi. Did you sleep well?"

"Well, yes and no. I had this dream, see..." Xoshi proceeded to tell Yoshi about his Viking dream and his bad morning. "...So now I'm here, telling you about it."

"Hmm. That's particularily interesting, Xoshi," said Yoshi. "Has the usual shortcut through the woods improved your day any?"

"Mm, a little, I guess; if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's beginning to flatten itself out in order to adapt to my frequent visitations."

"Well, don't let me stop you. Have a nice rest of your day, Xoshi!" called Yoshi as he began to walk off.

Walking backwards a little in the direction of where he was headed, he responded through an "I'll try!!" to his friend. Then he continued walking, forward this time. His motion was soon placed on the dirt road that Yoshi had just used respectively. That was so like him, Xoshi was thinking to himself. Yoshi had every last bit of a leader coursing through his veins. He always did things the right way, even if they were long and winding, not unlike the dirt road that Xoshi refused to take earlier, as he did the time before that, and the time before that, and so on. Xoshi, on the other hand, was a different one. He tended to go against the flow, but his moves always seemed to serve him well in the end, despite how odd they may have seemed. The road led him to an upraised ground where a hut sat on a hill. It was much more whole than the other ones would be since this one was donned in a variety of botanical forms, from daisies to Super-Ball Flowers. Inside, he met the stout, feathered Yoshi Priest. He was in the middle of the room, sitting Indian-style. He was constantly and rhythmically letting a high-pitched chant almost escape his lips.

"O-woh. O-woh. O-woh. O-woh..." and so on. Xoshi had to interrupt his chant, though.

He stepped forward, cleared his throat, then spoke. "A-hem," quoth the brown Yoshi. The priest awoke with a start, grumbling then in his normal, medium-pitched voice.

"Hm, rr, what? Xoshi, is that you, my son? How dare you interrupt my meditation, boy, I was just beginning to float, dash it all." He got up off the floor and brushed the dust off of his form.

"My apologies, Sir, and you weren't floating. You were only making floating sound effects."

"Trust me, my boy, I know what I'm doing," retorted the elderly Yo'ster. "So, now that the spell has been evaporated, how can I help you?"

"I-" he started, but the priest cut him off.

"-You need to pay the Super-Happy Tree another visit, yes?" he said with his right hand out, as though he was saying, "Halt!"

"Yes, Sir," replied the younger Yo'ster.

"I am not surprised. Follow me, Xoshi, my boy." The two of them made their ways on over to the backdoor which was connected to a long "hallway" of some sort, which was really composed of a fence, similarily decorated with flowers. It made a pathway leading from the hut to the big backyard. There, in the background, they could see the revered tree in all of its mighty glory. It kept appearing to grow larger as they advanced towards it. While they were walking, the Yoshi Priest was speaking with Xoshi. "Your frequent visits are quite noticeable, Xoshi," he was saying to him. "I swear, by the powers vested within me, someday your holiness may surpass even mine."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I feel, without its guidance, I would go through days feeling as though I forgot to place my right arm in its socket in the morning. It's happened before."

"You speak as though you were committing a sin."

"I-"

"-You're a misfit, Xoshi, and you know it," the elderly Yoshi cut him off once more. "But, trust me, that's not a bad thing. No, it isn't; not in the least. Without Yo'sters like you, we would always be trapped in the past. If only more could follow your example. How do you think I made it to such an exalted position?"

Xoshi nodded softly in agreement. "Yes; I believe you're right."

"You know I'm right, Xoshi. Believing is one thing, but knowing is another. You must always be able to distinguish the two, and you must always live in the present."

Xoshi caught a glimpse of Deja Vu as he heard those words. He wondered for a split-second why he even bothered to say that to the young Luigi earlier on. He wasn't really allowed to contemplate any further on the matter since another Yoshi had come into view. It was a tan one, also donned in an assortment of feathers, not unlike the priest. But they were arranged in a more feminine fashion since she was a girl. She also had on her a blanket with intricate patterns going all over it instead of a saddle.

"Jeila!" spoke the Yoshi Priest to the newcomer, with a soft J. "How has your morning been going, sweetheart?"

"Just fine, Papa," she responded to her father. Xoshi was well aware of who this girl was, since he tended to use the shortcut a lot, as well as the consulting of the priest and the Super-Happy Tree. Xoshi may have been a different one, complete with the same philisophical side that his mentor seemed to share with him, but he sometimes considered himself an idiot for always missing out on only the grandest of opportunities, which were often ones concerning the ladies. More than enough times did the two of them wind up in the same room together. Also, more than enough times, did Xoshi miss his chance. The young, female Yoshi, named Jeila, then turned her attention to the father's associate. "Hello, Xoshi," she said to him.

"H-Hi, there, Jeila," he said, timidly, as though this hadn't already happened before.

"Well, I'm done for the day," she summarized. "The tree is all yours, Papa."

"Thank you, sweetie," he said to her. They rubbed their bulbous, Yoshi noses against eachother a bit before she left. "Take care, now," he said to her as she was making her way back to the flower hut.

"You too," her voice trailed off. "Bye, Xoshi," she said.

"Bye..." Xoshi barely said as he waved weakly to her. The old Yo'ster snapped him out of it soon enough.

"Boy, oh, boy, just you wait, Xoshi; someday you'll be having kids of your own," he said as they continued on further.

"Uh, yeah..." he mumbled. At last, there it was right before them: The gigantic, colorful, and oh so smiley Super-Happy Tree. It was growing just out of the center of the pool which had a waterfall just behind it. This was all on even more upraised ground, which seemed to be assisted by an assortment of rocks, all of them coming in only the most natural of circumstances.

"There, she is, Xoshi, my boy," said the priest. Then he leaned in a little closer to whisper in his ear, "Run to her, boy, she's waitin' for ya."

"What?!" exclaimed the young Yoshi as he was booted forward by his eager mentor. A little bewildered, he looked back at him to see his little wave of approval first before he decided to ascend the rocks. Once he made it to the top of the hill, he could no longer see the Yoshi Priest. It didn't matter since he was finally going to do what he came to do all along. The tree spoke first, telepathically. It had a femine, yet very authoritative "voice".

_So, Xoshi, you have returned, once more,_ it said to him. He knelt down into a position with his eyes closed as though he were praying.

_Yes, Mother,_ he responded.

_What can I do for you?_ it asked

_Oh, the usual. The strength to change what I can, the ability to accept what I can't..._ he said to it.

_Let it so,_ it responded.

_Oh, one other thing..._ he said to it.

_Yes?_

_I had a dream last night: I was in a cave with a Viking..._ Once again, that day, he retold the tale. _Tell me, Mother: What does it mean?_

_You'll find out soon enough, my child._

_Yes, Mother,_ he said again. His next move was to gather a few of its fruits before heading back down. There, he met back up with his mentor and they proceeded to walk back.

"So, what did the two of you talk about?" he asked him.

"Dreams and stuff," he said before using his long tongue to instantly swallow one of his fruits.

"I see..." he said. Once they were back inside that one fancy hut, they were greeted, once more, by the priest's daughter, Jeila.

"Hello again, Papa," she said to him. She was on the ground examining something.

"Hello, Jeila. What's that you got there?"

"Oh, hi, Xoshi. It's a poppet, I think." She got up for the other two to see. She handed it to her father. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be a stuffed doll of some four-eyed dog thing.

"A voodoo doll," he exclaimed. "Curses, there's no safe way to dispose of these things. Where did you get it?"

"While the two of you were out there and I was walking back, we had a little intruder. Whoever it was, it scat as soon as I entered the room and left this behind." She was referring to the doll her father was looking at.

"Isn't there anything we can do, Sir?" Xoshi asked his mentor.

"Well, it's not nice knowing we have an enemy. The only thing I can think of to do with this thing is to keep it where noone can get to it," he said.

"Um, I believe I can handle that one, Sir," Xoshi said, a little unsure of himself.

"You believe, Xoshi?" said the priest as he turned to face him.

"No, Sir, I know I can handle that one," he corrected himself.

"How?"

"I can't tell you. That's how you know that I know I can do it."

He was a little bit hesitant, but handed the doll over anyway. "If you say so, Xoshi," he said.

"Thank you, Sir," he said with a bow. "See you later, and you, too, Jeila." He then turned and walked out the door.

"Bye, Xoshi!" she called out to him. Xoshi responded by turning around a little to wave back. He kept on going until he made it to what was previously the "exit" to his little shortcut. As usual, that time, when he went through it, it was ever so slightly easier than it was the time before that. He kept on going until he was out once more so he could then make his way back on over to his hut. He got stopped once again by Boshi, though.

"Hey, Xosh," he said again. "What's that you got there? It don't look like cookies..." He was referring to Xoshi's new doll.

"Oh, this? It's nothing."

"If you say so. Hey. Remember the cookies next time."

"Sure thing, Boshi," he said, a little tiredly. Inside the shadows of his hut, he then made his way on over to one of the few other things beneath the roof besides his hammock. He had a shelf of books, a big, bowl of fruit, and a trunk. He deposited the fruit he got from the Super-Happy Tree unto his bowl, then made his way on over to the trunk. Since it was behind his bookshelf, they didn't notice when he pushed the trunk aside, opened up a secret trapdoor, then dropped the strange doll in there to go with his other things. He closed it back up, moved the trunk back on top of it, then rubbed the dust off his hands in an "and-that-is-that" kind of manner.

At the "door", he was greeted by another one of his Yoshi friends, Yazzee. "Hey, Xoshi!! Me and Yoshi just came up with the greatest idea: You, me, him, and Boshi; we're all going to Isle Delfino!! Isn't that great!?" The easily excited Yoshi was hopping up and down before the eyes of the brown one.

"Whoa. Isle Delfino?? That's great. When do we leave?"

"Tommorrow."

"WHAT?!" said Xoshi, switching moods at an unbelievable rate. "Who set this up?!"

"I did!! Sort of." He stopped hopping up and down to reach behind him and pull out a little piece of paper. "While you were praying, or whatever, I got this in the mail!!" He handed it to Xoshi so he could see it for himself. It read:

_"Congratulations, Yazzee Yoshino!! You have just won a free trip to Isle Delfino!! Kolagokohonnokana-loo-hoo!!"_

Xoshi paused a bit to look back up at the excited yellow Yoshi. "Cory-ronna-go-fooja-scummy-wummy-hoo-hoo??" he said.

"Just keep readin' it!" said Yazzee as he stood in one spot, rhythmically tapping his left foot, then his right, then his left, then his right... Xoshi did as he was told.

_"-hoo!! Down here, we have everything you could ever ask for from hot springs, to rainbow waterfalls, to mouth-watering watermelons (Ohhhh...) That's right, Yazzee; without even lifting a finger, you have just won all this plus many other spectacular sites you could only dream of before! Just bring 3 friends along. We'll do the rest! Kolagokohonnokana-loo-hoo!!"_

Xoshi lowered both of his hands with the note still in it. A blank look was on his face. "This is..." he tried saying, but didn't really know what he was going to say. "It's... Um, well, it's... Something."

"Isn't it, though?!?" Nothing could kill the yellow one's enthusiasm. "We'll be at the docks tommorrow morning. Be sure to bring all your stuff with you!" He almost turned to leave. "Oh, I'll need that letter back, please." Xoshi complied. "Thanks!!" At that, he was off. Xoshi sat down on the floor to let it all sink in at his own pace...


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**  
That night, the Seven Star Spirits were gathered once more in their little sanctuary. At the entrance, they had amongst them a newcomer. It was a glowing mass of sparkling, golden dust suspended in midair, about the size of a golf-ball. It waited patiently as the ceremony carried forward. Every time one of them spoke, a trail of glitter would materialize out of nowhere to start swirling around where the makeshift crystal ball was earilier. Nay-Charr went first. "By the powers of the plants and the fungi," she said. Her glitter was glowing a bright green.

"By the powers of the ice and the snow," said Blizzarr. His glitter soon came into existance. It was a bright blue and it started following the almost snake-like green one of the higher Star Spirit. The two entities almost seemed to form a yin-yang of sorts. The ceremony continued on further with Earhar.

"By the powers of the air, the clouds, and all things with wings," she said. Her glitter soon joined the other two. It was of a purple hue.

"By the powers of the fire and the lava," spoke Pyrar. His glitter was orange, but rimmed with red to provide an even more infernal feel. It, too, joined the rest of the swirling glitter.

"By the powers of the ocean and all of its living creatures," said Seastar. Her glitter was more of an aquamarine color.

Mummar was the next to go. "By the power of time and space," he said. His glitter was silver.

Finally, Eldstar went. "By the power of energy and all things neutral," he said. His glitter was grey. It made the altar of their sanctuary look like a ring of rainbows. Then they all chimed in simultaneously, like a chorus.

"By the powers of creation, devastation, and tranformation, let there be the Seven Magic Wands!!" As it was spoken, so it was. The ring of rainbows started to whirl even faster and glow even brighter until it almost whited out the room completely. The only shades of black that could have been seen were the star-shaped shadows cast by each of the Seven Star Spirits. Once it started dimming, they could see that their incantation was a success. There, on the altar, were revolving, not an arrangement of colored lights, but a set of seven wands. Each of them were composed of gold bodies and jewels embedded on top of them so they vaguely resembled royal scepters. The jewels were all composed of the same colors they were each made of previously when they were but bodies of glowing glitter. They were magically rotating in a clock-wise movement above the altar, like before, but at a slower pace. Nay-Charr took it from there.

"You will receive these as soon as you have made it to the peak of the Shooting Star Summit of Toad Town. By then, you will have borrowed a form, correct?" She was speaking to the sparkling entity over by the entrance. It gave off a rhythm of glowing patterns, like Morse Code, in response. "Good. May the powers of the stars guide you on your way." The thing winked a few times more before descending into the floor like a ghost. Soon, it was no longer in the sanctums of Star Haven, but rather the fluffy clouds of Plit. Just below the clouds, something big and round, like a giant Frisbee, was whirling its way across the sky over the ocean. Inside, all kinds of creatures were stirring.

The main room was composed in a circular arrangement, of course. The forms were all sitting at the various consoles that were laid before them that fringed the edges of the room. Some of them looked like humans, but with skin as shiny and metallic as steel, hair as white and fluent as it would have been on a fine horse, and frightful blood-red eyes. Some of them also looked like humans, but with purple skin, and fangs and big, pointed ears like a vampire. Others were what looked like humanoid frogs. One particular one waddled his way into the room via one of those futuristic doors that slide in from both sides. He was a rather rotund one donned in only a golden robe to represent his rank. He made his way up the upraised platform that made the center of the room. There, in the middle of it all, was his liege, one of the purple space aliens, but bigger and more muscular than the others and more authoritative to the eye since he had more badges on his black uniform than the others.

"What news do you bring me, Wart?" said the captain in that unnaturally deep voice of his. His right-hand man had an even deeper one, though. It was like a frog's ribbit cranked down a few notches so it was more of a growl, or a belch.

_"THE PRISONERS ARE GOING DOWN THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE. SOON, THEY'LL SUCCUMB AND BE YOUR SLAVES. THE ONE NAMED RAPHAEL IS COMING ALONG PARTICULARLY WELL. THE SENSORS ARE SHOWING HE IS CURRENTLY HAVING A NIGHTMARE ABOUT WHAT LOOKS LIKE HIS DARKER SELF,"_ said the giant frog named Wart.

"Just as I thought," said the captain. "He should make quite the 'enlistment' to my army. Anything else?"

_"YES, SIR. THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TAKING NOTICE OF OUR ENTERPRISE. THEY FEAR THE CIRCLES THAT HAVE BEEN FORMED IN FLOWER FIELDS."_

"Huh huh huh. All according to plan, I see. How I just love it when things go my way."

_"YES, SIR."_

"Captain," said one of the metallic-human ones. "We're about to fly over what looks like the underwater civilization of Marinotropolis. Shall I engage the disorientators?"

"Yes, Cutlass," answered the captain.

"Disorientators... Engaged," said the man named Cutlass after switching on one of the buttons. From outside the ship, one could have noticed how it was then blinking in an eerie manner with high-pitched "beeps" to go with. Beneath the waves, one could have noticed just what kind of mayhem this was causing. Deep down there, there was indeed a mighty underwater civilization. The place was composed of various towering, spiraling structures and bubbles. Each of them appearing to be made out of glass and almost baring resemblances to the sorts of oddities they would sell at glass shops, or New Age stores. It was truly a sight to behold. But as soon as the aliens turned on those "disorientator" things, it was becoming even more of a sight to behold. First it was normal, then the lights started to flicker. Then they went totally haywire.

Inside one security gaurd's room, a merman was lying there with his feet up, snoozing away. But then the dim light that was then illuminating his room started flickering before it started giving off an array of disco-colored lights. He was soon disrupted from his slumber. "Zck- Ugh, what the-" he exclaimed. His monitors no longer showed various rooms of the museum, but just about everything else that was under the sun and then some. One showed the image of Homer Simpson suddenly waking up and making monkey noises, another showed a clip of the Inspector Gadget movie, one of them showed the Super Mario Bros. movie, one of them showed Sonic poking the eyes out of his arch-nemesis, Dr. Robotnik, another showed Mike switching on over to Nosey T. again, and so on.

"Ooh ooh OOH!! I'll get you next time- -About mud? It's clean and it's dirty- -Gotta speed, keed!! It's Alex, not Alice," he could hear his sets saying. It was chaotic.

Elsewhere, the merman in uniform was having troubles of his own. "Johnson!!" his superior was saying to him. "What in DAD's name are you watching there, son?!"

"Well, uh, I dunno, Sarge!! It was beeping as usual, but then it just started- I DUNNO!!"

The one named Johnson was being scolded at over the fact that his radar was no longer showing a rotating green line, but what looked like a pair of-

"-JUGS!!" said another merman to the one nearby also peering his way through a telescope. "It's saying 'EAT AT JUGS'!!"

"What's going on?!" said his companion. "Mine says, 'This is a rip-off of "Austin-"'"

"-POWERS!! My powers are gone!! What in Sam hill- It's like a collidascope- Gnarly, man- TOTAL CHAOS!!" various citizens of the city were saying. Up above, beyond the waves and under the clouds, the aliens were rejoicing.

"Huh huh huh. This just keeps getting better and better," the captain was saying. Over their heads, they weren't aware of the Star Warrior that was also having problems. It was having trouble concentrating and moving in a straight line. So it started spiraling out of control.

"Noone messes with the wrath of T-" the captain was saying. But then suddenly there was a BANG which rocked the whole ship. The red light was going on and off, on and off as the alarm noises were going with it. "WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHAT WAS THAT?!" the captain, then in a rage, shouted.

"Sir, we've been hit by something!!" said one of his crewmembers, one of the purple ones. "It must have been... A missile or something!!"

"A missile?! That's impossible!! Where's the damage??"

"The bottom of the ship, the Vector 9 area, has been hit, Sir!" said another one, one of the silver ones.

"The bottom?!? Now I know that's impossible!! Quickly! Send the repairmen down there and find out who hit us!! We'll have to strike back," ordered their big, purple leader.

"Yes, Sir," said the crewmember. Wart and his captain were still looking around from shock. Then...

...BANG!! They were hit again. "NOOOOO!!! This can't be happening to us!!" bellowed the space alien again.

"The main engine!! It's been totally demolished!!" said another silver alien.

"AARRGGHH!! We've failed!! Quick!! Steer the ship so it strikes land!!" he barked again.

"Sir! What about the backup engines??" said another silver.

"Rrg. Switch over to-"

"-The backup engines have been demolished too, Sir!"

"RRG!! We're going down!!" As he said it, so it was. Down, the ship went. It illuminated the sky like a flaming meteorite, sliding down from the sky, leaving a blazing trail of destruction as it headed for its target. The U.F.O. was headed for some volcanic island off in the distance while the Star Warrior was spiraling its way towards the other island off in the distance...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**  
Xoshi was having the dream again. Once again, he was there, in a cave, with some Viking-guy. They were about to perform their next incantation.

While Xoshi was sleeping away in his hammock, he was unaware that two enemies were watching him from the bushes. "Oh, good! He's asleep!"

"Do we strike now, boss?"

"Yes. We'll do just that!" Out of those bushes emerged two thieves: One of them was wearing a blue hat while the other one trailing behind him was wearing a yellow hat. They tip-toed their ways on over to underneath Xoshi's hut. It was times like these that made the island's residents regret the fact that they were so lenient on thieves, what with their open doors, and all.

They made it to behind Xoshi's bookshelf where their prize lied in wait. They each got to one side of the trunk. "Alright, Crookie, on three, we give this thing a push! One... Two... Three!! Hungghhrrghff... Ugh!! There!" With a few drops of perspiration, they had done it. The trapdoor was exposed, theirs for the taking. "Great. Now, Crookie, hand over the crowbar."

"With pleasure!!" said his sidekick. The yellow one named Crookie whipped down his sack of goodies then began to rummage around until he found the jimmy he was looking for. "Here ya go, boss!"

"Thanks, Crookie. Here we go!! Urgh, umph, ooooofff, rrg, ugh, uh, gumph! URGGHH!!" He was trying with all his might to break the contraption free, but to no avail. "Rrrrgg-GAH!!" He let go and fell backwards with the crowbar still sticking out of the floor at an angle. "This is gonna be tougher than I thought," said the blue-capped boss. "Crookie! Don't just stand there; give me a hand with this thing!!"

"Uh, we could just try the handle there, boss," stammered his right-hand man.

"Great thinking, Crookie! Now you know why I always run the show!" said his boss, taking all the credit.

"But, but-" he tried saying, but-

-Whump!! "Got it!! Oh, man, there it is!!" At this point, Xoshi was reaching the climax to his big dream. He was tossing and turning as his subconscious made things uncomfortable for him. "What's his problem?" asked the blue one.

"Hm. Maybe it bothers him that we're breaking into his house at night?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Let's get this thing out of here."

"Righ-toh, boss!" They were about to top off their job, but suddenly, the spotlight was on them.

"Cripes!! Coppuhs!! We've been had!!" his boss was panicking. But his subordinate was busy correcting him by pointing at that one sparkly thing that had just entered the "room".

"No, boss! It's a sparkler! They must be celebrating Independence Day a little early this year, or something," said the yellow one. The "sparkler" was staggering around above their heads as though it was just coming back from an extra fulfilling night at the pub.

"If they are, then they're celebrating a little late! What is that thing? What's it doing??" The light suddenly stopped in midair, then fell down right on top of Xoshi as though it was tripped or knocked unconscious. "CRIPES!! It'll wake him! We gotta-" he was saying. But at that point, Xoshi was, once again, at the part when the voice inside his head said, "Brace yourself". The sparkly thing had entered his mind. About a split second after it had disappeared into his head, his eyelids flew open and he was up with a start.

"AAAAAUUUUGGGHHH!!" Xoshi screamed, snapping into an upright position. While he was doing that, the thieves had scampered off back into their bush. It seemed as though all three of them had been scared out of their wits. While Xoshi was over there, panting heavily, the other two were in the bush sweating off their worries.

"Boss," said Crookie. "That guy scares me."

"Bite the bullet, you wimp. Let's see what he does," said the boss.

The dream coming a second time was freaky enough for Xoshi. He had to have a foreign soul invading his head? He looked around a little, still looking pretty nervous. Finally, he screamed, "WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING INSIDE MY HEAD??!"

_Xoshi, Xoshi, Xoshi, calm down. Please. I can explain,_ he was "hearing" it say. It didn't calm him any.

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?! HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!?" he shouted.

_Please! Get a hold of yourself! You're drawing a crowd!_ That last part may not have been true, but he sure was disturbling the neighbors.

Xoshi started breathing at a slower pace in his attempt at calming down. Finally, he said, "Who are, and what are you doing inside my head??"

_Xoshi, you mustn't "talk to yourself", either. People can still hear you. It's just us two._

Xoshi caught on and started "talking" to the spirit telepathically. _Who are you, what are you doing inside my head??_ he asked for the third time. The two thieves, of course, weren't able to hear any of the "unspoken" parts of the conversation. They reached one conclusion:

"That guy's gone psycho!!" said the boss. "Let's am-scray!!"

"But, boss, what about what we came here for??" his sidekick pleaded.

"We'll get it later. Come on!"

"Gwugh!!" Crookie grunted. He was just grabbed at the collar by his boss. Before he knew it, he was being brutally dragged through the woods at a quick pace.

Xoshi's friends, Pinky, Oshi, and Pish, were at the "door". They were worried sick. "Xoshi, what's the matter??" Pish was saying.

"Yeah, you're making all kinds of noise; you scared us half to death!!" they were saying.

_Tell them it was the burglars,_ said the spirit.

"What??" said Xoshi, out loud. His friends misinterpretted this, though.

"I said, 'what's the matter?'" repeated Pish. They were all looking quite expectant. Normally, they would have been sleeping at this hour, but there was this, plus the fact that the adrenaline was keeping them alert.

_While you were sleeping, there was a pair of burglars robbing your house. Tell them it was them,_ the spirit explained.

"It," Xoshi started. He wasn't too sure of himself. "I- I was- My house, it was being invaded by a pair of burglars," Xoshi stammered.

"Really?" said Pinky. "That's terrible. But what were you saying when you were yelling something about your head?"

_Tell them you said "house", not "head",_ said the spirit.

"I- I was telling them- I was yelling at them to get out of my house. No, I was yelling at them, what were they doing in my house. Yes, what were they doing in my house," he said.

"You said, 'House,'?" said Oshi. "It sounded more like, 'Head.'"

_Tell them you didn't exactly have your head on straight, what with suddenly being robbed in the middle of the night, and all,_ said the spirit.

"I didn't exactly have my head on straight. It was just so sudden. One second, I was sleeping, having a nightmare, then those burgers- I mean, burglars come in and- I just didn't know what I was saying. Didn't know," said Xoshi.

"Well," said Pish. "I'm very sorry to hear that you were robbed. We'd be more than happy to stand gaurd while you-"

"-No, no, that's okay. I'll be fine on my own, on my own," Xoshi said, interrupting and stammering at the same time.

"Alright, then. We were just worried about you, that's all," said Pinky.

"Good night," said Oshi as the three of them began to walk off.

"Don't let the bed-bugs bite," said Pinky. Although, this was one of those moments when it was hard to tell whether or not he was joking.

"Yes. Good night, guys. Thank you for your concern. And... Thanks," said Xoshi.

"Good night," said Pish. The two of Xoshi and his new visitor waited a little while before picking the "conversation" back up. They had to make sure the patrons were gone.

_Okay, okay, okay,_ thought Xoshi. _No more scenes. Please: Tell me, at once, who you are, and what on Plit you are doing inside of my head._

_Xoshi, my most sincerest apologies for what happened these past few minutes,_ said the spirit. _At last, I shall grace you with an explanation..._

_I am a Star Warrior,_ the spirit began. _I come from Star Haven. You may know it also as Star Road, Star Street, and/or the Space Zone._

_Yes, yes. That rings a bell,_ thought Xoshi.

_As you may also be well aware of, it is the place where wishes are granted._

_Yes, I know that, too._

_Well, it is also the place where major crises become talked over. The Seven Star Spirits sent me. A little while ago, they were talking about something, but, to date, noone can really say exactly what it was they were saying. Not even the esteemed Nay-Charr was sure. They did agree on one thing though: Something bad was eventually going to happen, and they needed the help of me, plus seven other people to prevent it from happening._

_Xoshi, you were not meant to be one of them, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself._

_...Go on,_ thought Xoshi.

_Anyway, I got elected for this job because I know exactly who we'll be needing._

_Funny how you're using the word, "we"._

_I'll get to that. See, before they sent me down here, they created, right before me, a set of seven magic wands. Each of them was granted the powers of one of the Seven Star Spirits. There was a plant-elemental one, an ice-elemental one, an air-elemental, a fire-elemental, a water, a time, and a neutral._

_How interesting._

_Quite. Each of the seven people "we'll" be recruiting will get one of these wands to combat the evil._

_Hey, what about me??_

_You won't be needing a wand; my star-elemental powers should be more than enough for you._

_Whoa, I get star-elemental powers?? Why not light, or lighting, or earth, or-_

_That's just how I am!! Sorry!! ...Anyway, they said I'd be getting these wands as soon as I made it to Shooting Star Summit._

_Whoa, hold up; we're going to Shooting Star Summit?!? I can't be going there; I've got a free trip to Isle Delfino to attend to!!_

_Ugh, yes, yes, I know. I'm getting to that._

_And stop reading my mind!!! I didn't ask for you to be here in the first place!!!_ For some reason, Xoshi was getting mad.

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please listen: They gave me this mission against evil, they sent me down, but..._ the Star Warrior hesitated.

_But WHAT?_ snapped Xoshi.

_Well, it's like this: Since I'm a Star Warrior, on my own, I have a heart, a mind, a soul, an array of powers, but no body._

_Ah, I see; so you had to borrow mine._

_Not exactly. See, in reality, I am this... Glowing, sparkling thing that just floats around. That's it. And, believe me, this isn't the first time anything remotely close to this has ever happened._

_Yeah, I think I can find others of my kind in the Nut House._

_Xoshi, I'm begging you: PLEASE LISTEN._

_Alright, alright. I'm sorry. It's just that... THIS IS NUTS!!!_

_Please, calm down. I'm getting near the end._

_Yes, yes; excuse me. Please continue (I've really got to relax; starting... Now. Ugh...)._

_Alright... ANYWAY, without further ado, I would like to finish my story._

_There have been occasions before,_ the Star Warrior continued. _When a "thing" like me has had to come down here and solve some problems. Our kind has always had problems with being disembodied. So we would have to borrow some forms. Dolls have always been most convenient. We would float down, examine this and that, and enter. Entering has always been an arduous task, since it has always involved blinding light. Anyway, we would bring the dolls to life. They would become "life-sized", and we would take it from there, armed with our star powers. And our awkward names..._

_Out of curiosity, what IS your name?_ asked Xoshi.

_It's hard to pronounce. So..._

_I'll call you "Starko"?_

_What? No. Please._

_Heh heh. Sorry, I was just making fun of my friend, Yazzee ("Storko"?)._

_On second thought... Call me "Beel"._

_Because that was the doll you were aiming for, anyway?_

_Wha-_

_-Turns out I can read your mind, too!_

_I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't do that. It should be mutual._

_Agreed. From now on, we don't go reading eachother's minds._

_Yes, indeed. Well, as you already know, I missed. But it wasn't entirely my fault! You see, as I was coming down, there was this giant Frisbee thing, and for some reason, just coming within even a few meters of it made me feel... Dizzy. I tried getting myself inside the doll, but alas, it didn't work._

_So lemme get this straight,_ Xoshi began. _Those star people up there are all-seeing and all-knowing, right?_

_Right._

_So, they decided to take a little break from granting people's wishes since they saw something worse was coming._

_Correct._

_So they sent you, but since that Frisbee got in the way, you wound up possessing me rather than the doll._

_Yes._

_And now our mission is to go out there and find Shooting Star Summit where we'll get these wands for these other people to accompany us, because they're the only ones that will be able to do so?_

_Right._

_Well, here's what I don't get. I know you're inside my head, and all, but couldn't you have just gotten out of there by now?_

_Ugh... No, I couldn't have. Once a Star Warrior has gotten into a body, it can't leave until approximately six months have gone by._

_SIX MONTHS?! I'll be insane by then!! And what about my free trip to Isle Delfino?!_

_For now, we'll just have to go along with it. I'll think of something..._

_Alright (geez, what a night...)._

At that, the mental conversation ended, and Xoshi then commenced trying to get back to sleep...

* * *

Over at Lava Lava Island, other Yoshies were having troubles of their own trying to get to sleep. 

"Did you see that??"

"What was that thing??"

"It looked like some kind of meteorite or something."

"Maybe we should go and check it out?"

"I dunno. Ren'll get mad if we do."

"Forget Ren!! We gotta do something!!"

"Alright, alright. We'll go."

Three Yoshies set out into the Jade Jungle to figure out what it was. The one who was the first, fourth, and sixth person to speak was a Yoshi of a deep green hue. The one who was the second, fifth, and seventh, was a magenta wearing a couple of feathers to add to his attire. The third one to speak was a purple Yoshi wearing a pair of sunglasses and a blanket, not unlike Jeila. Like Boshi, his feet, too, were exposed due to his lack of shoes. The moon and the stars were out, but most creatures weren't since this was the night. They just kept going forwards towards the direction that the column of spoke was coming from.

"Man," said the magenta one. "This place sure gets creepy at night."

"Everything gets creepy at night," said the purple one.

"Ah, come on, guys. Pull yourselves together! Besides: What can a little darkness do to us, anyway?" The green one said that.

"I'm okay," said the purple one. "It's Fyooshi here who needs to calm down."

"I just don't think this is a very good idea!!" whined the magenta one, named Fyooshi.

"Yeah, well, Ren's ideas weren't exactly ones I would call too bright, either," said the green one. "At least we're doing this one out of our own free will."

"In that case, why did I have to come along?!" said Fyooshi.

"You didn't have to," said the green one. "In fact, you can go on home if you want."

Fyooshi turned around to face the direction from whence they came. He saw something rattling around in the bushes. "YIPE!! On second thought, I think I'll stay," he said.

"Stay standing there, or come with us?" said the purple one.

"Er, come with you!! Yeah." At that, the three of them were officially going in together. A few steps later, they were within hearing range. They could hear the voices going off behind those bushes.

"Quick! We gotta hide," said the green one. They dived into some conveniently located shrubbery, then, one by one, they poked their oval-shaped eyes out, like a trio of cartoon characters. It was clear which pair of optical receptors belonged to who. The green one had his eyelids lowered in a serious, intent fashion, Fyooshi's eyes were flinging off drops of sweat, and the purple one had his to hide behind those shades. Beyond, they could see the strange people wandering about.

"What's the report?"

_"SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT SIDE, SIR. THE GYROPCOPTIC STABILIZER HAS BEEN WIPED OUT, AND ONE OF THE PRISONERS HAS ESCAPED."_ Both voices were found frightening by all three of the Yo'sters, Fyooshi especially.

"Ugh. This just keeps going from bad to worse. One second, we're on the winning streak, the next, we're scraping ourselves off of our own shoes. Wonderful. Who was the prisoner?"

_"THE ONE NAMED RAPHAEL, SIR."_

"FANTASTIC!!" bellowed the purple space alien. "Just think, Wart; someday, my name will be known well for undergoing the greatest intergalactic mishap in history. Great."

_"IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT, SIR. THE DAMAGE WE SUFFERED FROM THOSE MISSILE ATTACKS REALLY WERE IMPOSSIBLE."_

"Well, obviously something should have been possible, otherwise it would not have happened!!" The alien blew off even more steam. He breathed in heavily a few times, then got a hold of himself. "Form a search party," he ordered to the big, green frog. "I'll stay here minding the rest of the crew while they handle the repairs. Clear?"

_"YES, SIR, VERY CLEAR."_

"Good. You are dismissed," he saluted.

"Naji," said the green one to the purple one. "Who are those guys?!"

"I was more concerned about what they're supposed to be," said Naji. "But it doesn't look good."

"Didn't the name 'Raphael' seem a little familiar to you guys?" said Fyooshi.

"Hmm," the green one hummed. Just then, they heard another sound from the bushes. A small creature, covered in black feathers jumped out at them. "AAAHHHH!!" they screamed in unison. Foolishly, they managed to grab the attentions of the newcomers.

"What was that??!" they heard the captain say.

"We've been sighted, Sir," said one of his silver subordinates.

"Kill them," he said coldly. With a "Yes, Sir," the silver one formed a mob of other silvers. Ten of them, each with their own weapon of choice, started running towards the bushes over there where they heard the screams.

"Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!!" the Yoshies heard the black thing say. "Boy, Noshi, you and your friends are just far too easy! Later days!!" At that, it scurried away, its feet seeming to never leave the ground.

"Wait, wasn't that-" the green one, Noshi, started. But then-

-WHAM!! He was hit in the side of the head by something blunt. The aliens were upon them. "NOSHI!!" screamed Fyooshi. But Naji grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him off in an extemporaneous sprint.

"Just run, Fyooshi," said Naji. Bofore he knew it, Fyooshi was frantically jumping over various green-colored obstacles. Whenever he dared to look back, he would find that those silver freaks were trying just as hard to keep up.

"We're just going to leave him?!" said Fyooshi, then running independently without Naji grabbing him.

"Don't think about that. Just run," said Naji. He, himself, could get a little scary at times. One of the aliens had what looked like a trident. Another had a laser gun, another had a ball-and-chain, another had a dagger, another had some kind of spear, but the head was made out of what looked like a yellow light. Another one was arming himself with a pair of sais. Another had a boomerang, another one had a hammer, and another one had some kind of sword. The one that felled Noshi was wielding some kind of metal club. Oh, yes; they were one dangerous bunch worth escaping from.

As they ran, various chlorophyll-oriented life-forms were being destroyed. Some by the laser gun, some by that vicious ball-and-chain, others by the sword. Eventually, the one with the sais came down upon Naji, tackling him, and resulting in a heap of arms and legs tumbling around with eachother on the harsh ground.

"NAJI!!" screamed Fyooshi, stopping to look back. That was not in the least one of Naji's intentions, though.

"JUST GO!!!" roared Naji. Reluctantly, the magenta Yoshi sped off as fast as he could, being careful not to slow down or turn around. Five of the aliens chased after him, leaving Naji to deal with the ones with the sais, the dagger, the spear, the club, and the sword.

Meanwhile, Noshi was still lying down on the hard/soft ground. Slowly, he came to with a ringing pain in the side of his head. He tried getting up, clutching at the damaged spot with one of his hands. "Grruuugghh," he groaned. "Holy shlamoly, that hurt like all get out." Before he knew it, though, there was gun pointed at the space between his eyes.

"Rest in pieces, infidel," growled the captain. A gauge started to fill up in red, yellow, then green as he squeezed the trigger. Not surprisingly, it was knocked out of his hands by some kind of small cannonball that was shot out of nowhere. "AARGH!!" he let out as it flew out and fired a spiraling laser to nowhere in particular. Enraged, the captain turned around to face his new enemy. It was a Snifit, just standing there, huffing and puffing as his snout was steaming from the blast it gave off.

"I'm warning you!!" said the hooded, red figure. "One step closer and I'll-"

"-And you'll what, you filthy cretin?!?" yelled the captain, as he advanced towards his new target. "You're supposed to be in your tube... Being mesmerized!!"

"Yeah, well, I didn't like the tube. Plus, I-"

-SMACK!! The alien swatted him aside with one of his muscular arms after bending down a little in order to do so. He straightened himself out once more, then turned back around to face Noshi. "Now where was I? Ah, yes. You, my f-"

-TSSEEEWWWW!! A spiraled laser, like before, was fired. This time, it was aimed specifically for the captain's head. Thinking quickly, he snapped his head to one side, then let the laser go past him to take down the unfortunate tree, adjacent to it. It lit itself on fire.

"How dare you touch my things," said the alien, now heading back towards Noshi. "Why, you don't even know what you're doing! Here, let me show you," he tried making a grab for the gun that Noshi was then holding, but Noshi jumped back and fired again. This time, his aim was false. It attacked another tree. "What are you doing, simpleton?!? Trying to set the whole forest alight?! Now give that back before you kill us all!!" Once again, he was striding his way towards the Yo'ster.

"NEVER!!" Noshi shouted. He started running as soon as the captain started picking up the pace. Meanwhile, the Snifit from before was lying in some bushes massaging a few of his wounds.

"Geez," he moaned, getting up. "This just isn't going to be easy..."

While Noshi and the Snifit were taking care of the captain, Fyooshi was still struggling to throw the aliens off. Nothing seemed to work. With every twist and turn he made throughout the jungle, no matter what, his chasers were still hot on persuit.

"Ugh, this just keeps going from bad to worse. What do I do?!" He took taking them back to the village into consideration, but then again, it was better that he died alone rather than letting the whole town go down with him. He just kept on running...

Naji was doing surprisingly well on his own. Even though it was five against one, Naji was holding his own pretty well. He wouldn't go without a fight.

"Want some of this?!" he taunted. He spread out his arms, made a two-dimensional golden star materialize before him for a split second, then shouted, "DARK STAR!!" and the spell came crashing down upon the head of the one who tackled him earlier, the one with the sais. Well, he was down for the count, but the others were still acting as an annoyance. The others, with the dagger, the spear, the club, and the sword, were beginning to close in on him. "Alright, wise guys." This time, he made the symbol of a flame, then shouted, "MEGA DRAIN!!" and fried the one with the dagger. Having been set on fire, the man dropped his weapon and started hopping about. Naji was just about to cast another spell, but the one with the spear started charging him. For some reason, he was pulled back by the one with a sword.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?" he roared.

"Don't kill him. He's strong. The captain will want him," responded the one with the sword. He got a snort for a reply and the fight continued. Naji was busy dodging the blows of the one with the club. Finally, he managed to materialize a laser of piercing, white water, which was going so fast, it made a clean hole in his gut. He looked down in horror as it began to cease being so neat.

"Mother of Mercy..." he moaned, then collapsed on the ground to bleed freely. Then he just had two more to deal with...

Noshi put up a good chase scene around their wrecked ship, his feet carrying him as fast as they could. His enemy had longer legs, though, which just added to the difficulty of the situation.

"FOOL!! STOP RUNNING!!" he yelled again. The Yoshi only looked back for a split-second to respond. Then, for some reason, he jumped, then continued running. "What in-" he managed to get out, but suddenly tripped over something and came crashing down, face first. "GWAUGH!!" he grunted. The Snifit had regained his senses and was back on the battlefield. His maneuver was one that involved simply him crouching down, then letting the foe trip over him. Noshi caught on once more, then headed back on over to deal the finishing blow. He stopped just a few feet before the captain's head, held the gun in both hands and pointed.

"Rest in peace, infrared... Siddle... Boy... Guy," Noshi stammered. That didn't sound as threatening as he hoped. The Snifit, on his feet, just looked at him, then to the ground shaking his head. Noshi wasted no more time. He squeezed the trigger, but...

...Nothing came out. It was out of juice! "Darn it!!" yelled the Yoshi as he tossed it to the ground. Probably not a smart move. The alien was still conscious and he got up a little to swing another arm out. Noshi wasn't fast enough. He slipped beneath the man's beefy arm and crashed down upon the ground. Then he got up and stretched his limbs.

"See, I knew you weren't so tough," he said. He picked up the gun and stepped a few paces backwards. He was going to perform some kind of wrestling move. Just when he started jogging was when the Snifit pulled himself together once more and fired another cannonball. This time, it was aimed at one of temples.

THWOK!! It got him right where the Snifit wanted it to. Since this took him by surprise, the alien's balance was thrown off and it ruined his sprint. He staggered a little clutching the side of his head, then turned back around to face the other opponent once more. "You conniving INGRATES!! When will you give up?!?" He started running towards the Snifit again. The fight just kept going back and forth, back and forth.

The Snifit just stood there for about another split-second just to say, "I think you're the one who doesn't know when to give up!!" Then he started running again...

Fyooshi, himself, was also getting some good exercise from the dire ordeal. For the past few minutes, he had been wasting his time steering his enemies into another direction. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know that he did not want them in the village. So he kept running.

Things would occasionally get complicated for him whenever the one with the gun would fire, or whenever the chain-ball man swung, or when the landscape would throw another tall tree for his face to run into out of misfortune. He just kept on running until-

-WHUMP!! He collided with something big, soft, black... And feathery. Fyooshi fell backwards onto his tail, then snapped his head up to lay eyes on this new obstacle. It was some kind of bird with these warm eyes...

"Quickly!" it said to him. "Climb onto my back; I know what to do." Fyooshi, for some reason, complied and climbed onto his back as told. The silver aliens were just about to come around the corner for another few seconds of chasing when the big bird flexed its feet, then sent itself flying way high up into the sky with Fyooshi clinging to it for dear life. They had disappeared.

"Cripes!!" said the one with the laser gun. "Where'd he go?!" The five of them were all looking around in a befuddled manner.

The one with the ball-and-chain muttered something foul beneath his breath. "Forget it," he said to the others. "Let's just head on back. The captain will understand..." Solemnly, they turned around, then started walking off in the direction that they came from. Little did they know that there was a little, black figure on the premises. Once again, it hopped out of the bushes, then it did a little victory dance.

"Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!!" it cackled again. "I'm a genius; a sheer GENIUS!! Ka-faw haw haww!! See how they run. I can do all that, and a bag of chips, too!! Ka-fwee hee HEE!!" It sped off to commit more mischief, or who-knows-what...

High up, Fyooshi and the big, black bird were hiding away amongst the burly limbs of the trees. The bird was staring calmly down below, but Fyooshi had a few breaths to catch up with.

"HUHH-heee-HUHH-heee-HUHH-heee," he gasped desperately. He took a quick gulp to drown out the parchedness that his throat gained from such an occurance. Finally, he got himself together and said, "You don't know... How grateful I am... Mister Bird..."

"Please," said his enormous savior. "Call me Raphael..."

Meanwhile, Naji was still struggling to duke it out with his two adversaries. None of his spells seemed to be working!! But then, suddenly, the one with the spear lunged out at him, then using the blunt end to it due to the orders of his comrade, and realization struck Naji: He was thinking too complicatedly!! With that in mind, he lashed out his long, sticky, frog-like tongue at the foe's weapon, snatched it instanteously away from his grasp, then watched with satisfaction with the spear somehow in his mouth as his enemy fiddled around with his hands a little in midair as soon as he noticed he had been disarmed. Naji, keeping things moving (and quickly at that), spat the spear back out into the palm of his right hand, then readied the thing the best he could in spite of its newfound slipperiness from his mouth. He held it tight, aimed, closed one eye for accuracy, then let 'er fly!!

SHUNKK!! It went right through his gut, and the fallen one came tumbling down as things started to get dark. Even though he was dead, his hands still clutched at the spear in his gut as though there might have been a point in trying to get it out. Then it was just Naji and the one with the sword.

"The name's Cutlass," said the man. "And I'll be winning this fight."

"On the contrary," taunted Naji again, always being the tough one...

The Snifit was having nowhere near as easy of a time as his sort-of ally, Noshi, was when it came to trying to outrun the overgrown brute. His legs were considerably much shorter and it didn't even look as though he had much time until the giant came crashing down with the edge of his elbow out for a crushing blow. The Snifit kept up the pace, then, suddenly, the purple man leapt into the air with that elbow out. It was like a guillotine to him, moments away from severing his head. The 8-Bit cringed in preparation for the impact. But it didn't come. Instead, his unseen ears caught a WHUMP and he reopened his eyes to see what had happened. His savior was none other than Noshi who miraculously managed to extend his tongue out long enough to wrap it around their opponent's strong legs. That was what sent him to the ground, once more. "YOU FETID... PILE OF... FECES!!!" The captain paused between each word for emphasis. But Noshi was beginning to wish he hadn't have done this. The alien grabbed a firm hold of the Yo'ster's tongue, or at least he tried to, considering the fact it was so slimy. "I'll... Make you... PAY!!" Noshi wasn't ready to hear anymore. With another flick of the tongue, in a flash, the monster was in his overtly stretchy mouth, and he swallowed with much difficulty. But no egg came out the other end.

"Oh," the merciless steel jaws of terror clamped down upon his throat in realization upon what he had just done; or rather, at what wasn't done. "No. PLEASE no," he pleaded weakly. His stomach wasn't going easy on him in the least and, before he knew it, he was dead.

SPLLOYYCHTTT!! The Yoshi had indeed suffered a terrible fate. He was spontaneously combusted from the inside out. Green reptillian guts was flung everywhere. Some of it even landed on the Snifit. "Oh, no," he breathed. "Oh, no, no, no, no, noooo..." he wailed over the loss of what was really more of a stranger than a friend, but still...

In Noshi's place stood an enraged Extra-Terrestrial captain. He breathed heavily for the sweet oxygen his lungs so needed after undergoing such a cramped operation within the bowels of his former nemesis. He was looking more menacing then more than ever, what with all that slime coating his body and dripping off of him in obese droplets of ooze.

"THIS... Is why... I AM THE CAPTAIN," he got out. "I... DON'T... DIE." Wiping the muck from his eyes, he started stomping his way on over to the Snifit's direction. He took no chances; the battle was over; they lost. He got up and sprinted as fast as he could into the woods.

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!!!" the captain called after him. Both of them were going as fast as they possibly could. Soon, they were back within the thick vicinities of the jungle's woods. The Snifit didn't dare look back, even though the alien was obviously coming upon him at a faster rate than ever. Doom looked inevitable to him. But then...

...POOF! He was gone, but not with any added smoke for special effects, or anything. He was just plain gone! Blinded by rage, the captain didn't take any notice of this until after he went face first into the tree that was, a few seconds ago, just before the Snifit. WHUNKK!! It did a number on those nostril slits he called a "nose". He stepped back in a daze, rubbing desperately at the sore spot which was starting to leak some dark purple ooze: His blood.

"RRRrrrggg..." he growled in frustration. "Rrrrggg... RrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRGGGG!!!" His fury just kept escalating and escalating. "AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!" With a single punch, he knocked that tree over. It splintered just a little below where he struck it, it wobbled a little, then it came crashing down. There was a short hiss as the leaves adjusted to the blow they took. Then the captain remained standing where he was, breathing in and out, in and out.

Where did he go?!...

While the group of silvers were walking back, a short conversation occurred between the five of them.

The one with the laser gun was saying, "Man, the captain was right: We really are breaking the intergalactic record for numbers of mishaps happening in a row."

"Eh, it could be worse," said the one with the ball-and-chain. "Afterall, we could be walking around here in the middle of a-"

-Not surprisingly, he inadvertently made his own prophecy come true. CRACK! BOOOMM!! It started to rain down upon them; heavily.

"Of a rainstorm," finished the one with the ball-and-chain. The other ones groaned out of just pure annoyance and defeat. Shadowy figures were approaching.

"Oh, hey it's..."

The rain only added to the situation's hopelessness on that island, just about everywhere. Naji and Cutlass's eyesights were only getting worse, especially Naji's. Plus, this was just all like some kind of cruel way to top off the captain's bad day. He sulked his way on back to the ship, covered in cuts, bruises, Yoshi guts, leaves, twigs, and now it was coming down on him. Why him?

Actually, rain can be a double-edged sword. This time, both sides were dealing the blows. He would have looked at it from the perspective concerning the fact that this was all like some kind of free bath, and a solution for the problem regarding those burning trees. Yes, the rain was indeed being a double-edged sword.

The fight between Naji and Cutlass was getting pretty close to its end. Naji kept trying to upraise juts of earth to knock over his opponent, but the heavy downpour and Cutlass's skilled swordsmanship was obstructing his concentration.

"Alright, 'Cuttsie', let's see how you handle this one," Naji made some kind of purple symbol, but whatever it was, it didn't last since his bare feet slipped on the newly-found wetness and fell on his back. WHAM! "ACKK!!" he screeched. He wasn't quick enough, though. That was when Cutlass slammed his foot down on top of his chest, pinning him to the ground. Naji let out an "Ooff!!" as the wind was knocked out of him. Cutlass leaned in closer.

"I told you I'd win," he said, spitefully. Naji snarled at him. Cutlass grabbed a hold of the Yo'ster's head, then brought the hilt of his sword slamming down on top of it. WHAM! It knocked him out cold. "There, now," Cutlass said, getting up, letting the soaking rain almost provide a spooky feel for the character as it dripped off of his long, white hair. "Let's get you to the captain." He bent down, placed his hands beneath his victim, then hoisted him up and slung him around his shoulders like a scarf made from a dead animal. He walked on back to the ship...

"How goes it, Commander Wart?"

They bumped into that one search party that the captain made earlier. It was composed of the big frog, plus four others of his race. _"NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL, I'M AFRAID,"_ he said to him, the one with with the chain-ball. _"ALL WE MANAGED TO FIND WERE A FEW FEATHERS, BUT THE PRISONER REMAINS UNFOUND."_ Wart relinquished a handful of the black feathers. _"AND THE CHASEES...?"_ he asked.

The chain-ball man let out a sigh. "They got away. We're returning to the ship to tell the captain," he said.

_"HOW UNFORTUNATE,"_ said the over-sized amphibian. _"COME; WE SHALL HEAD ON BACK TOGETHER."_

"Yes, Commander." And so, the group of ten turned around and headed their ways on off to from whence they came...

Still unknown to them, Fyooshi and Raphael were up there in the trees. "They're looking for me," said the bird.

"Why?" asked Fyooshi.

"I escaped from their spaceship," the bird answered.

"Whoa, spaceship?! So they really are aliens!!"

"Yes, and their intentions are not the best." Raphael picked himself up from their spot. "Come. I shall show you around. It's been quite a while since I was last here..." At that, the two of them hopped off, journeying high up in the branches of the trees...

"Captain!" called Cutlass, once they were back in that one opening. "You look terrible!"

He did indeed, since the rain was still coming down upon them. "Yes, I know," he responded. "I had quite a bout with the green one and the Snifit."

"So, it wasn't just that Raphael guy that escaped," he said.

"No. It wasn't." Just then, the captain's other ten minions returned. "WELL?!" he yelled over to them.

_"NO LUCK,"_ said Wart, always being faithful.

"Blast," muttered the captain. His attention was suddenly stolen by Cutlass, though.

"Oh, Captain, I did get the purple one, though." He slung down the unconscious Naji. The captain stared a bit at their new prisoner. "He's really strong. He knows magic."

"Ahhh," the captain let out with great satisfaction. "At least someone's been doing things right, lately." He extended his right arm and used its hand to rest on Cutlass's shoulder. "Cutlass, I'm giving you a promotion," he said. The silver alien was wide-eyed.

"You mean it, Captain??" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, Cutlass, I mean it." He turned to the ten others. "Give him a hand, men." They applauded, as told, but some of their enthusiasm was killed by the fact that none of them were promoted. Well, Wart couldn't go any higher, but still...

They made their ways inside their wrecked ship, then in a diagonal angle from the impact. It was almost like a funhouse. The purple ones were inside, working away at repairs. "Where were you?!" The captain yelled to them. They stopped their activities to turn and face him. They were each a little ashamed, even though they didn't exactly know why. "Didn't you see the trouble I was having with those idiots outside?!..."

Meanwhile, the Snifit was busy going down some sort of super-slippery slide, or a tunnel. He would have found it amusing had it had not have been the very ground that disappeared before his feet a few seconds ago, hence making him vanish, end the battle, and send him into an even more hysterical mood than before. The tunnel twisted and turned a little with him screaming the whole time.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-OOFF!! As soon as it started, it stopped. He was then inside a really big underground cavern. It was most definitely populated since he could see various structures and machines going about, all of them made mostly of wood. The place was inhabited by mole people, of course. One of them was wearing a bonnet and an apron. It came over to him.

"Oh, my, you poor, little thing. We have got to do something about that tunnel!!"

* * *

Back at Yo'ster Isle, Xoshi still couldn't get himself to sleep. He was too busy thinking about the past events. Where did he go wrong? Not once in the past few weeks, or more, did he get to sit down and relax after so much trouble. No, he didn't do anything wrong. Or perhaps that wasn't the way to put it. He made the conclusion that it all started when that baby fell from the sky with that map. Because of him, he's been too busy living out each and everyone of his days extra unsure of what's to come. Like the rain, fate, to him, has always been a double-edged sword. Did it finally turn his back on him, or was it even there to begin with? Such thoughts swarming about his skull weren't exactly lulling him back to sleep. To top it all off, he had a cursed doll to watch over which he already knew was being coveted by at least two criminals. Why did everyone want that thing? What's it supposed to be, anyway? And why, oh why was he the one of all people to get possessed by a Star Warrior? And what about that one trip to Isle Delfino? It was just too much.

_Beel?_ he asked the Star Warrior.

_Yes?_ it said to him.

_I can't get to sleep._

_That's perfectly understandable._

_I know. I just..._ he started. _I just can't stop thinking about how DOZENS of things can happen when your back's turned..._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**  
Dr. Kamenstein looked around himself, wearily. He was trapped in a dome-shaped cage, hanging from the ceiling, thanks to a semi-strong chain, wrapping the end of itself to one of the wooden beams belonging to the ceiling of the cottage he was then in. He looked around, once again, to take in the stats of his environment. It was a dimly lit place, the light mainly coming from the fireplace from just behind. Two cauldrons could have been noted as present: One of them was cooking itself over the flames of the mantle, while the other one was in the center of the room, boiling by these magical green flames, somehow keeping the pot afloat while avoiding catching fire to the floor at the same time. Its mysterious contents were being stirred by a pair of female Magikoopas, the two of them donned in purple robes and pointy hats. One of them had pink hair while the other one had blonde hair. They were chanting something...

_"Ziga zoma chimah sen,__  
__With the herbs from Ligell's den,__  
__Zoga tini joga tine,__  
__With the blood from Jlakan swine.___

_The ooze is nearing its life's peak,__  
__To weaken the strong and grow the weak,__  
__Its powers, they will aid us so,__  
__As we stir it, to and fro.___

_Zoga zenus... Tomiah shawst...__  
__The cobra's fangs... Will soon be lost...__  
__Jema tonee... Loo seir-in...__  
__So says... Our god, Veyran...___

_Ziga zoma chimah sot,__  
__With the abyssal sand we've got,__  
__Zoga tini joga tell,__  
__With the dark-dog's crystal bell.___

_Zoga zenus... Tomiah shawst...__  
__The cobra's fangs... Will soon be lost...__  
__Jema tonee... Loo seir-in...__  
__So says... Our god, Veyran..."_

This creepy song continued, and it sent cold signals down the doctor's spinal cord. One question was on his mind:

_How did I wind up here?..._

The mad scientist decided he would answer that question for himself as soon as he got a few of his memorable past experiences out of the way first.

The first stop he made on Memory Lane was a moment taking place in his early childhood. He recalled a younger version of himself, sitting at the dinner table with his mother and father.

"So, Amos," his mother spoke to him. "How was school?"

"You always ask that question," he replied darkly, stirring away at his garlic stroganoff.

"So," she began again. The father was eagerly chomping away at his meal in their background. "How was it?"

"Amos" let out a sigh. He reluctantly decided to go along with the mundane routine. "Just fine, mother dear." He inserted some of the gunk into his mouth.

"Well, that's nice," she said, adding to her sentence an unnecessary mixture of rises and falls. "'Learn anything new?"

"It's 'Did you learn anything new,' Mother, and no, I didn't... Unless of course you'd count that one thing about the 'Placebo Effect'..."

"Oh, well that's even nicer!!" she said ever so enthusiastically.

Amos sighed again. "'Nicer' is not a word."

"Oh. Right. My bad," she giggled. This didn't amuse Amos in the least, however. He would have ripped his hair out, if he had any.

Instead, he merely clutched at his bald scalp and said through gritted teeth, "Please... Don't... Ever... Say that..." It was his father's turn to speak next. He dabbed the sides of his mouth with his conveniently located napkin after drowning out his last few bites.

"Well, honey, I simply must say: This is the best dinner I've ever had. You should open up a diner, or something," he complimented.

"Why, thank you, dear," she said, of course, with that smile ever plasted upon her face.

"And you, son," he said, turning to Amos. "You should consider taking up Accounting..."

Amos frowned once more. Every father said that. "I told you, dad, I plan on going into the fields of scientific research when I grow up. What does Accounting have to do with me?!"

"Well," he started, "it's like... Your mother's cooking..." as if that wasn't a bad simile. She giggled once more. "With a little hard work and dedication, you could make anything come out of the Oven of Life; namely, Accounting."

Amos rolled his eyes. Every father said that, too. It was getting old. "And... That applies to me... How?" he said.

"Simple!" he said, "you just take those Anal Retentive personality traits of yours, throw in a good education, a few years at college, stir for nine months... HA HA HA-" He stopped there suddenly to slip into a rite of laughter, simultaneosly, with his wife. As quickly as it ended/started, it started/ended again: "-HA! ...And voila: You've got yourself a nice, piping hot, mm, that'sa-one-spica-meata-balla job in the Accounting department. Just like your uncle, Fred!"

Of course, had he have said instead a little something more along the lines of, "Just like your old man", it probably would have been more appropriate, but no matter what he said, Amos had heard it all. He decided he had had enough. He gathered the remaints of his dinner, including the plate, the glass, and the other eating utensils, and got up out of his seat. "Mother, Father, it has been another pleasure dining and conversing with the two of you. I shall retire to my room, now, and perhaps take into consideration what you told me, father."

"Ah; you're welcome, Son!" his father said as he made his way over to respectfully place his used food objects over there on the counter for later cleaning, as usual. He walked back a little towards where he came to give a polite bow, as it was part of the proper etiquette of Sarasa Land.

"Don't mention it," he said coldy, even though it was obvious that sentence normally came after the two words, "thank" and "you", rather than "you're" and "welcome". He turned around and headed up the stairs to his sanctuary. As soon as he got there, he turned on the light, mopily closed the door, meandered over to his bed, and flopped down upon it, belly first. He managed this by landing in such a position that would allow him to lie down, with his face held in the palms of his hands, which were being supported by his elbows against the mattress. He did this, although no tears were being shed. He was just simply in one of those moods...

"Mother of Mercy, why me?!" he muttered under his breath. Then he released his face and looked up into the window where his bed was near. His gaze was fixed upon the stars that were slowly forming in the evening sky. "Why was it that I, of all people, was the one to be left the misfortune of getting stuck with two such inbeciles for his up-bringing?!..."

The adult version of Amos, Dr. Kamenstein, ended that part of his flashback by remembering how it was another crescent moon that night. He noticed the witches were still doing their chant.

_"Our cauldron's contents are coming to life.__  
__Soon, it'll rid us of our strife.__  
__An incantation is in order.__  
__It'll wipe our foes right off the border.___

_Zoga Zenus... Tomiah Shawst..."_

_Wierdos,_ he thought. _How long are they gonna keep that up?!_

Escape seemed to not be within his grasp at the moment, let alone at any moment, so he continued his complex mental activity. The next stop he made was more in his teenage years. There he was, standing with the rest of his variously raced classmates and schoolmates, waiting for the big, fancy buses to arrive. It was great; since they had all payed the 200-something amount of coins along with the permission slips, and everything, they were going to visit a completely different country: Mario Land.

He was there with his old friend, Mad Scienstein. A conversation struck up between the two of them: "Boy, Amos, just you wait; in due time we'll be basking in 1-up Hearts, giant pumpkins, amusement parks, big ugly stone turtles, and casinos. Maybe even royalty, too (I can already taste the autographs). Do you think it's true how they actually have a statue of a hippo that spouts bubbles out of its nose? I heard that they can take you all the way to the moon..."

"Hmm... It's rather hard to believe, I must say, but yes, I do think it just might be possible."

"Yes. It must be quite a technological feat."

"Or an engineering one."

"Yes, that, too. I don't know why I brought up all that other stuff; I've always wanted to go to the moon! I heard it has a world called 'SPECIAL'." He imagined a jazz type theme-song starting up in his head: Doo-doot-doot doo-doot-DOOT; DOOOOT!!

"And that you don't even need a space-suit to get there!"

"That, too! Now, how do you suppose that's possible?"

"I don't know; it ought to be quite the scientific find."

"Or the impossible one! You'd have to be invincible, or something..."

"Which reminds me, how goes that one serum of yours, the Invincibility Potion?"

"Splendid. All I have to do is figure out the Clofide Enugulator Spectrum, and I'll be all set!"

"Grand." At that point, the buses finally arrived and the topics of the chatting people around them shifted slightly. Their obnoxious teachers grabbed their attention. Amos, Mad, and the rest of their group were being led by a certain duo of them consisting of a man with a goatee, a bad comb-over, and a pair of glasses, and a little, middle-aged one. The goateed one spoke up.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen... Boys and girls... Boys and gentlemen? Babies, gentlemen, and the like! That's what I said, gentle-man! Do any of you remember that song? He said it, walk like a man, talk like a man, walk like a man my s-"

-SMACK!! Thankfully, that was when the smaller one got him upside the head.

"Thank you, Sir; I needed that. As Sigmund Freud would say, 'Psychology... Is everywhere!!'"

SMACK!! The small one got him again. "Um, what El Psycho here is trying to tell you all is simply to remember what bus you're on and... Don't get lost!"

"'El Psycho'?! My good sir, I believe you are mistaken!! As Charles Darwin would say, 'My name possibly evolved from m-"

-SMACK!! With a motion of his hand, the smaller one beckoned the students to board the bus before them. It bore a picture of some cartoony-looking rat-like marsupial giving its beholders the thumbs-up while saying, "Crash Bandicoot : The Bus of Cortex". Once all the groups were loaded onto their respective vehicles, they were off to the airport...

The witches had taken a break from their cauldron boiling/stirring activity, thankfully. Only the pink-haired one was in the room. "Kammelina!" she called out. "What's the hold up? You should have the eyes by now!"

"...I'M COMING, SISTER. BE PATIENT!!" Kammelina called back.

"Hmph." She stood there next to the boiling pot with her arms folded. Suddenly, she looked over to Dr. Kamenstein. At last, he was being acknowledged. "So, how have you been doing, 'Amos'? 'Been enjoying the show? How about the view? The weather?"

"It's 'Have you been enjoying-'"

"-Yeah, yeah. Me, too. Just you wait; the big finale's coming up next!" As if that really was just what the doctor ordered, whatever it was going to be.

That was when Kammelina, the blonde one, finally rushed into the room from upstairs with the jar of slop.

"FINALLY!!" her sister bursted out. "What kept you?!"

"Well, I was a little bit hesitant because I found out that maybe what we needed was some Marinotropolan swine, not Jlakan swine," Kammelina responded.

"'Marino-' NEVERMIND! Let's just get this over with..." The two of them waddled over to the cauldron. Kammelina twisted the top off the jar then emptied its gruesome contents into their brew. Then it started to glow rhythmically. Kammelina tossed the jar aside, resulting in a shattering noise from the distance. They grabbed a hold of their big spoon again and resumed their song...

_"Zoozus jovi goma zass__  
__Chook-ta hu Shyss soma blass..."_

"Oh, now you're just speaking gibberish..." Dr. Kamenstein muttered, doubting they heard him.

Dr. Kamenstein skipped his flashback ahead a few hours when they were actually on the plane to Mario Land. Of course, he got to be seated next to his friend, Mad. Since Amos saw ahead of time that it was going to be a rather long flight, he brought along with him his laptop. He was surfing the internet. Eventually, Mad got bored, and the snoozing gorilla kid to the right of him and the left of the aisle wasn't exactly making things more exciting. He leaned over to Amos to chat. "Gracious, how in the world did we get stuck with Lazy Kong?! All this kid does is sleep!! He probably has too much melatonin going through his veins, or something. It's a wonder how his parents could afford this trip; they're probably as lazy as he is! Hence the name..."

"Mad, do you mind? I'm trying to figure out what could allow a person to visit space without a space-suit."

"Oh. My apologies, Amos. It's just that I'm terribly under-stimulated. It'd be nicer if Elvin were here; then I wouldn't be so bored and he'd be able to answer your question..."

Amos sighed. Mad's last line reminded him of about ten different things at once: That one e-mail he sent; the Rip Van Fish that wrote back; that one extraordinarly long fish-related movie they had to watch back in the fifth grade; Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within; Gone With the Wind; his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie; that one time when the three of him, Mad, and Elvin had a run-in with a block-maker, an age-fanatic, and a transfigurator; that one Harry Potter fan-fiction he read once; that one time Elvin told him about how ghosts often like to play tricks on people; and, not surprisingly, there was that word.

"I'm going to look up that word..." muttered Amos.

"Which word?" Mad asked. Amos didn't respond, however. He just typed away a little more, let the search engine do its work, and looked it up. A frown fell over his face.

"I can't believe 'nicer' actually is a word," he grumbled.

"Oh, that word. Yeah, it's a word. Would you believe that 'befoe' and 'enormosity' aren't? If fact, there was this one time I..."

Dr. Kamenstein returned briefly to the present to check up on the processes of his two capturers. He noticed how they were still going on with that creepy chant.

_"Jema tonee... Loo seir-in..."_

At that point, Dr. Kamenstein decided it was then time to stop wasting his own time and get to the point: He got to the part when he had just finished calming the babies to rush in from out of the corner to say, "Did you say, 'Evil clowns'??"

In response, Marilyn said, "Yes, Sir, I did. By the way: Would you be Doctor Kamenstein?" He remembered a short round of introductions and stories being repeated. He would have continued on further, but something caught his interest.

Dr. Kamenstein returned to the real world briefly, once again, to check up on the processes of his capturers. They were still chanting. However...

_"So, light the way, our wondrous kin.__  
__Break their bones and burn their skin,__  
__Make them cry, make them cringe,__  
__With our deity's dark sorynge..."_

Dr. Kamenstein was confused by that last word. It was kind of like when Marcus couldn't tell if it was "macho" or "nacho". The two sisters seemed to be equally befuddled. The blonde one spoke first.

"'Orange'?! Are you out of your mind, sister?! It's supposed to be 'syringe'! Besides: Nothing rhymes with 'orange'! Everyone knows that. Even the 'muggles' do!!"

"Now, let's not be using that copyright infringement stuff on me, Kammelina. Everyone really knows that that's just a silly paradigm. It's all in how you pronounce it! 'Or-inge', 'binge', 'twinge', 'singe', 'SYR-inge..."

"You Liberals make me sick!! Nothing has ever rhymed with 'orange', and there never will be!! Stick to the script!!"

"Oh, you would say that, you Conservative know-it-all; Little Miss I-Shall-Remain-Young-For-The-Rest-Of-My-Years."

"Are you making fun of my hair?! I'll have you know, Kammeo, that blonde is my natural color!!"

"You're just jealous that yours came out blonde and not pink like mine did. The good-side of the gene-pool; that's what I got!"

"You filthy, little urchin!! I am the most beautiful koopa in existance, and you can't take that away from me!!"

"No, you're the most hideous abomination that has ever been brought into this world, hence plaguing it with anger, hatred, desire, selfishness, and lust, etcetera!"

"Don't you go comparing me to that silly 'Pandora's Box' children's tale!!"

"Who says you're like a box? I'd say you're more of a horrid, misshapen, disfigured, blob of..." and the conversation went just about as pointless as that, constantly changing subject from one to another. In spite of this, the doctor still saw it all as even more things that would get the puzzle pieces to fall into place, both inside of his head and out. He let out another disgruntled sigh and continued his memories.

Dr. Kamenstein remembered then being in his own personal library, once again, to answer some questions. In addition, the three guests, including the children, Tessa and William, were there, too. The book he was flipping through that time was entitled "A Dark Past". It was actually a book he, himself, was writing; one about his own personal biography. Like before, he flipped through the pages for a little while until he came across what he was looking for. "Ah-HA!" he exclaimed. "I wrote this down upon returning from our trip to Mario Land in high school. It says, 'Our next stop was the mayor's house, a piece of architecture particularly bigger than the rest. What astonished me was how it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Our two, young, female tour-guides led us throughout the place, having us witness such sites as the commons, the "Hall of Paintings", and the gift shop. We were also taken to the cafeteria (which was more of a diner, if you ask me). It had all the tables, boothes, and waitresses on roller skates fit to blend in with the environment. For reasons that were unclear to me, at first, the place also included a stage. Of course, that served no purpose until after me, Mad, Birdo, and Lazy Kong got to finish our intelligent conversation. The lights suddenly went off, and we heard a high-pitched voice screech, "Ladies and gentlemen, kneel before your masters." It frightened us, at first, but then the spot lights turned on, and there, before us, was the famous dark rock-and-roll band, "The Evil Clowns".'" Dr. Kamenstein stopped there to let it sink in. He remembered William saying something.

"'Evil Clowns,'" he repeated. "Don't you mean, I.C.P.?"

"I thought they did. It turned out they didn't. I remember them breaking into a vengeful song called 'Your Own Blades'. A magnificant performance, yes, it was, but, in the end, it was revealed that the song really was too good to be true." Dr. Kamenstein continued reading from another point. "'...The story was boring, so I snuck out. Hiding behind the sign from before, I was able to be let in on who and what exactly "The (so-called) Evil Clowns" were... technically. They said their "evil plan" was to use the song to completely entrance the audience, so their pockets could have been mined of all money, complimentary carrots from the start of the tour, etc.. That was when I noticed my laptop was missing. I was enraged, but forced to remain calm. There were, after all, two more members than there were before-' -Five to be more exact," the doctor interrupted himself, then continued. "'And I knew, perfectly well, I didn't stand a chance. Sneaking off to call the police would have been a formiddable action, but their words intrigued me; they spoke of "their mistress" and...'" Kamenstein started to stall. The next part was a little private. "And the rest is history," he summed up.

"So, you've met them before," said Marilyn.

"Yes, I did. Later, I conducted the research..." Dr. Kamenstein stalled once more, careful not to mention the vital part. "...And it turned out that they had changed their names to 'The Demonic Jesters'. Their ambitions were still unknown to me, and... I also found out that they were weak against 'sub-zero temperatures'..." he trailed.

"Ah, like 'the claw'," the boy said again.

"You watch way too many movies," said his older sister.

"Hm. Maybe," he said mischieviously.

Dr. Kamenstein took another break from his memories. By that time, the witches had finally finished fighting and remembered what it was they were arguing over. They concluded that it was actually a syringe loaded with dark orange guts.

"Well," the one named Kammelina started. "Alright; just try to be a little more careful in the future."

"Hmph! Let's just return to our 'toil', okay?"

"Okay." At that, they resumed the stirring and the rhyming.

_"Make them cry, make them cringe,__  
__Burn their skin (make it singe)__  
__With our deity's dark syringe__  
__Filled to the brim with dark or-inge..._

" Sigh ." Dr. Kamenstein remembered then walking through the halls of his dome, once more, deciding upon the plan of attack.

"...And, because of that, I want you, 'Storko'..." he was saying.

"I'll..." Storko said, meaning he was waiting for his boss to finish his sentence.

"On second thought, scratch that. Last time I sent you to do something, you screwed up. So, instead, I'll be going."

All four of the rest of the conversation's participants seemed to be a little shocked by this statement. "But, Doctor..." Storko started. He was cut off, though.

"Nah-ah-ah, my word is final. Afterall: I have been meaning to take my revenge out upon those rejects of society. Plus, I'll be needing someone to stay behind and be a good babysitter/host." By that time, they were at the door leading to his "garage", which he made into more of an arsenal, filled with his inventions, designed to inflict pain, and whatnot.

"Hmmm... Yes, doctor."

Dr. Kamenstein fumbled around with the keys a little more, found the right one, and opened. Once casting his silhouette against the square of light that the door seemed to be from a distance, he reached out with his right hand, and flipped on a light. There, right before them, was something vaguely resembling what would be seen in the garage of a rich man. _A rich man like that Mac Rozone,_ he thought darkly. One of them kind of looked like a futuristic bike, but it was missing its hind wheel, and a few other parts, too (he was still working on it). Another looked like a submarine, another looked like an airplane built for one passenger, and one passenger only, and the fourth one looked like a jet. Its front forming the shape of the Madscikoopa's buck-toothed, glass-wearing face (it was customary for mad scientists to mark their things with their own face-like logos). But the one he decided to walk over to was the small airplane one. The stork ventured out into the semi-empty room a little further than the somewhat timid family of guests did. Dr. Kamenstein got to talking as soon as he popped open a compartment near the front of the flying device.

"I call this the 'Sky-Pop'. I used it both to attend college, and flee from Mario Land," he said, then making his way over to the wall before the machine. Marilyn grabbed his attention.

"That's how I know you!!" she said. Dr. Kamenstein stopped his activity, realizing he probably made a mistake, mentioning Mario Land. "You used to be the chancellor of..." She stopped there noticing a solemn look on his face. "Oh. I'm sorry. Was that something I shouldn't have brought up?"

Dr. Kamenstein quickly found forgiveness for the woman. It was, afterall, he who brought it up. That, and he found her to be way more redeeming than his own mother was. "Don't worry about it, Madame." He continued to pack light blue Bullet Bills with what looked to be strange gas-mask-like faces on them into his invention. This caught the interest of the daughter.

"What are those?" she asked.

"I call them 'Blifit Bills', my dear. They are projectiles that can freeze the target upon impact. They're powerful enought to solidify even fire."

"That's not possible," she said skeptically.

"I remember there was a time when I, myself, was thinking that exact same thought towards the exact same spectacle, dear. She was a female Snifit with her sights set on a certain doll. But with science, anything is possible," Dr. Kamenstein said, hoping he wasn't sounding too much like that one doofus he said was boring.

"...And so I was saying, 'how can I "get on the bus", if I don't know where I'm going to?' Well, he told me, 'Son, when the times are getting the tough, the tough gotta get times.' They were the wisest words I ever heard in my entire life. Years later, I thought of the economy while watching the paint dry. I said to myself, 'Self?' And I responded, 'Yes?' 'What can I do to make this country a better place?' But then I remembered Waldo Zwoods' wise words..."

The labcoat-wearing Koopa Troopa shuddered at the memory. He then noticed the slightly nervous look on the girl. Really, she was thinking about his last last sentence. He said to her, "Tessa, my dear, fret not. These things are just what those 'evil clowns' will be needing. And, Madame, don't you worry, either. I'll be in Gana Village before you'll know it, as your husband will be returned." As he was climbing into the seat of his contraption, placing the helmet atop his head, he noticed he hadn't said anything to William nor his stork yet. As the propellor was starting up, he turned to said two people, and quoth, "Oh, and William? Do take good care of your mother and older sister while I'm gone. 'Storko', serve them well, including Wario, Waluigi... And the 'you-know-what'. Tah!" His airplane's wheels whirled him around the other machines, and slowly, he took to the skies. Waving goodbye to him reminded Storko of the Yoshies, Marilyn of her husband, and William of "Sideshow" Bob's younger brother. It reminded the doctor himself, though, of the "copyright infringement stuff" that those female Magikoopas brought up earlier. He broke away from his deep thoughts again, and noticed how their chanting was continuing as their ooze was beginning to glow even brighter.

_"The pot's contents are starting to glow.__  
__Soon we will have dealt our blow..."_

For once while being held as their prisoner, Amos was beginning to feel a little nervous. He decided to move it along...

The next thing he knew, he was up in the sky, remembering that fateful night (it was a flashback within a flashback) with the big one, the Jester one, the horn-playing one, the round one, the spiky one, and the two new ones...

"So, how was the concert?" Amos noticed how one of them was tall and female, with a wretched voice.

"It went rather well! We had the audience completely under our control! Which reminds me, Taffy, how did the plundering go?" Amos noticed how the big, fat one, Rudy, was talking to the other new one, an orangutan wearing a polka-dotted vest (half yellow, half white), a frilly thing around his neck, a red, rubber clown nose, and another one of those pointy hats.

"Heh heh heh," he chortled in a deep, sinister voice. "Prosperous. Since you guys were up there doing your thing, noone noticed how I completely mined all of their pockets. A few of them were carrots and a laptop, though, but hey, we made millions!!"

Amos's sluggish approching quickly evolved into him ducking behind the "Vil verc vore vud" sign from before. He checked the compartments of his white coat. No coins, no laptop... Not even a TI-2001!! Those thieves!! He had to contain his rage, however; had he have blown his cover, it surely would have been the end of him. All he could do was wait, listen, and hope they wouldn't notice him. He reasoned it could have worked a second time...

"Kudos to Har-Harlequin for the marvelous idea!" Rudy was saying. The others all simultaneously let out their variously voiced "Kudos!"' as the tall, ugly, female one took it with much satisfaction.

_Those THIEVES!!_ Amos thought to himself with his teeth gnashing. He was going to re-sneak his way back in to phone the police, but their next few words re-grabbed his attention...

"At last, we can revive our mistress, can we not, Rudy?" said the Jester in that handsome voice of his.

"Yes, Jester, we can. Har-Harlequin, if you will..." As he commanded it, she produced a small box. It resembled a treasure chest with a question mark and a crank on it. Rudy's first movement with its strange handle automatically jerked the box open. The top, rounder half of it split off to form a roof over the box's contractable contents: The thing that held the two parts of the box together was some kind of glass cylinder with a small, but highly detailed statue in the midst of it. Amos couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be a statue of from where he was spying, but he could make out one thing...

_A music box??_ he thought to himself. The next instant Rudy tried the handle, it was moving in cooperation with his hand's circular motion. An eerie lullaby started to play from the box as the statue started to whirl about. He could notice the eager faces on the other minions, almost resembling dogs drooling for a nice juicy steak being dangled above their heads.

Each note the box played made its statue glow even brighter. At the right time, Rudy said, "It won't be long now!!" The eyes of the others widened even further. Amos was feeling this, too, in addition to having that feeling in his stomach as though it was suddenly made of lead, hence keeping him from drawing any breath. Just when the song was but one note away from its completion, Rudy stopped.

"Boss?!! What's wrong?!?" The horn-playing one was panicking, but he seemed to be but one of the few of them that didn't already know the answer to that question.

"Can't you hear it?!" Taffy Kong hissed.

"It's headed straight for us," Har-Harlequin mumbled. Amos was beginning to hear it, too. Two voices: One of them high-pitched, the other one low-pitched, both of them screaming bloody-murder as though they were just shot out of a cannon...

"...aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuggggggGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

...Which they probably were considering how they were two blue blurs headed straight for the villainous group of seven like a pair of twin speeding bullets.

"HIT THE DECK!!" Rudy shouted as he snapped the box shut and dove to the ground with the others. The two blurs whizzed past their heads and collided, heads first, into their Clown Copter. Surprisingly, the impact was able to make all three objects tumbling out of control in the direction away from the group. A few clouds of dust and an ending to the screams later, The Evil Clowns got up off the ground, dusted themselves off, then made their ways on over to investigate. Amos had to alter his position as they moved away, certain that their shifting lines of sight would have been able to catch him at some point. Amos noticed them, too; they were a downed duo consisting of a Snifit and a Sackit. Once the group came within their breathing space, they got up and rubbed their heads for obvious reasons.

"Geez Louise, Blifit, you scream like a girl."

"That's because I AM a girl, you dripwad!!" Apparently, neither of the two of them were aware of the clowns that were staring them down.

"Are you two alright?" Rudy asked, being the self-professed gentleman that he was, as usual.

"Yes. A little concussioned, though, and-" The one named Blifit stopped right there. She suddenly became more conscious of the presence of their sympathizers then more than ever. She immediately took a different tone while pointing to Rudy, accusingly. "YOU!!" she bellowed. "You're that one posse of evil clowns that Razule told us about!! Sackle, get your knives out; we've got a circus tent to burn down!!"

"Yes, ma'am!!" Sackle, the Sackit, then unsheathed an impressive assortment of the sharp weapons, eight of them in all, one to be held in the spaces between each of his ten gloved fingers. That made him look more intimidating.

Dr. Kamenstein recalled how he couldn't tell if it had dawned on Rudy, yet. He persisted to maintain his polite faux. "Now, see here, miss, I believe you have the wrong cl-"

"-Forget it, Rudy; let's get 'em!!" Har-Harlequin cut him off. She threw her arms out and immediately started to send lightning bolts crashing down upon her foes out of nowhere. Blifit and Sackle were dodging frantically; she was making them dance!!

"Alright then." Rudy got his wits together. "Jester, Night Guy, Taffy; you three help out Har-Harlequin. Ba-doyng, Katunk; you two get to restoring the Clown Copter. Me?..." He looked around himself in all directions.

"You'll..." Ba-doyng, the Bashful, started.

"I'll get to finding that music box." The others let out a few worried noises and words. "Don't worry; just get to those villains!!"

"Yes, Rudy," they all said at once. Then they jumped into the battlefield, which had its lightning bolts replaced by the hoops of fire of Har-Harlequin. Ba-doyng and Katunk made their ways on over to the fallen Clown Copter. Rudy wandered back over to where the spell was almost cast. He stopped and scratched his head, rotating like before.

"Now, where did I put that thing?!" he muttered to himself. Little did he know that while they were distracted, Amos was busy stealing the box from where it was last dropped. He was still behind that stupid sign.

Dr. Kamenstein remembered how Har-Harlequin just kept using her fire hoops, Sackle kept throwing his knives, and Night Guy kept... Blowing his horn. But it seemed as though every time he did, a musical note-like knife would materialize before the horn's mouth, and he would use that to throw at his enemies. Taffy kept flinging barrels out of nowhere, Jester kept using his deck of cards, but what intrigued Amos the most was how Blifit kept spouting from her snout these blue clouds of freezing mist; one of them even got one of the fire hoops in midair! When that happened, the flame immediately transformed into a big frozen doughnut which fell to the ground and shattered. If only he'd have his pen and notepad around, then he would have been able to write down the mysterious Snifit's amazing anatomy. Since he didn't, however, he was forced to rely upon memory.

Ha-WOOONKK!! Night Guy produced another knife. It stood there in front of him for a moment before he grabbed its handle and flung it at Sackle. Sackle caught it with his then knife-free hand and threw it back at him. He dodged the attack, though, and it just resulted in a perfectly good weapon landing in no location in particular. Taffy Kong threw a barrel at Sackle from behind, but he just leapt up from it, and it ended up crashing into Night Guy who was too busy ducking to dodge. SMASH! The barrel combusted upon impact. Night Guy was down for the count.

"Whoops, uh, sorry about that, Night Guy! I was just trying to-" -SHING!! It was too late; Night Guy was already unconscious and Blifit had managed to manipulate his time-wasting apology by spending the time it took to freeze him like she would with Har-Harlequin's hoops.

"Why, you little brat!! How dare you fell one of my comrades?!" she spazzed. "Take this!!" She breathed in and exhaled a blast of flame. Blifit retaliated, of course, with her sub-zero breath. Shudda-sha-SHING! The fire was turned into sculptures of ice shaped like eyeless Podoboos. They shattered once they hit the ground. "Grrr... STOP DOING THAT!! IT DEFIES THE LAWS OF PHYSICS!!"

"So?"

"So, STOP-" -DOYNG! She was interrupted by one of Sackle's knives; it got her in the right shoulder. Instantly, her left hand zipped to it. "AGGAAHH!! I've been wounded!!" She fell to the ground. One more left...

"You wanna piece o' me??!" Jester yelled to the two of them, while holding up his right hand which magically made a fan of razor sharp playing cards appear.

"Hey, howdja do that?!" Sackle called to him. Jester just grinned.

"It's magic, silly!!" He began throwing them at the two. Sackle took it into his two hands, however, by flinging them off into different directions in midair with the knives he threw.

"Shoot! I'm out of carves!!" the two of them simultaneously said. Blifit just laughed.

"Of course, I on the other hand, am not so-"

That was also when it hit Rudy. He said, "Of course! How ridiculous of me; it's obviously right behind that sign!"

Amos felt his blood stop moving. Suddenly-

"And with a few minor adjustments-" -WHAM! "It's right-side up again!"

"YAY!" Badoyng said. Just when they were about to hop in-

-WOOOOO! WEEOOEEOOEEOOEEOO-

-The police sirens were off. The squad was rushing into the scene with their eight go-karts.

"My prayers have been answered..."

"Cripes! I just knew this would happen!!"

"GAH!! I told you using their cannons for travel was a bad idea!! Grab the doll, and run."

Amos, Rudy, and Blifit were the ones who said those things, in that order. Just then, the Clown Copter was up and running again, being manned by Ba-doyng and Katunk. They had managed to scoop up each of Jester, Night Guy, Taffy, and Har-Harlequin. Then it was Rudy's turn.

"Rudy! Hop in!" Katunk was saying.

"NO! We must-" -It was too late. They rammed into his gelatinous body and flew away with him clinging on to it. "NOOOOoooo..."

It was just as well. The police had arrived where they once fought.

"Mama mia!" one of the native police officers said. "They got away!"

"But the blue ones are still on the run. Let's go, boys!" At that, they (VRROOOOM!!) drove off, leaving Amos to remain lying behind the sign, breathing heavily, sweating profusely, with the artifact resting atop his chest...

_To this day,_ Dr. Kamenstein thought to himself. _I have wondered how on PLIT I was able to evade the group, the clowns, the thieves, and the police. I have also been wondering about that music box..._

That was when he noticed he had almost run out of juice. "Blast!" he said out loud, above the trees. "I must stop for fuel..." Unfortunately, joints that offered such liquid for such devices of aerial transportation tended to float amongst the clouds on strangely colored platforms of wood and they would be run by midgit space aliens with white bodies and pairs of sunglasses (both reminded him of his arch-nemesis, 'Foreman' Spike). That was no time for bad past experiences, though, so he had to make do. He flew in closer amidst the trees and, quite luckily, managed to come across something: A cottage made of gingerbread, peppermints, candy canes, gum drops, lemon candy, and just about everything under the sun that could rot teeth. He would have found it tempting had he have been able to retain the sweet-tooth he had back during childhood. He just needed some assistance, however, and so he landed firmly a short distance away from it, turned off the Sky-Pop, removed his helmet, hopped out, and approached the doorbell.

Ding dong! It took a little while, but eventually, he was able to catch a glimpse of an eye staring back at him through a slightly opened door held to the wall by a semi-strong chain, and behind a pair of movie-star-type glasses. He caught one glimpse and that was it. As soon as it opened slightly, it shut back up. This confused the mad scientist, and he could have sworn he could hear voices from within. He leaned his non-existant ear up against the door to listen more intently.

"Intruder alert, sister! I say we age him into an old man just near his death!!"

"No, no. You have to cut back on the age stuff, Kammelina. I say we turn him into a cockroach and smush him!!

"My, my. What a creative interrogator you are, Kammeo! Lay off the transformation stuff, why don't you. Use your imagination!"

"Well, at least I wasn't the one who left that doll at the Yoshi house!!"

"Blaming me for that again, are you, sis? Grow up, now, hm? I'm just saying..."

Dr. Kamenstein could feel that hard and heavy feeling in his stomach again. He knew who they were: They were that same trio of witches that he, Mad, and Elvin bumped into so many years ago... Well, two of them, at least. But where was the "block-maker"? It didn't matter to him; he was just going to gently walk away, and hope for the best. Just when he turned around, he heard the door squeak open quickly behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh, no, no, NO, dear. By all means! Come on in." It was the blonde one that was telling him that. He was more motivated to make a break for it then than ever. He didn't get very far, though. Not very far at all. As soon as his sprint started, it was stopped as soon as a scaly hand grabbed him fiercely by the back of his coat.

"Aahh!! I'm sorry, ma'ams and sirs, but I really must be-"

"-NONSENSE!! I in-SIST!!" Her sister, Kammeo, waddled out to grab him by his right arm while the other shifted to do the same to his left. At that, he was dragged into their sugary house of death, and rusty metal shackling noises were heard (sha-SHING! Sha-SHING!). The next thing he knew, he was hanging from the ceiling, in that dimly lit room with two of his many old enemies staring up at him, contently. One of them had her arms folded, the other one had placed her hands on her hips to form a grotesque hexagon shape.

"So, Amos Milo Kamenstein, we meet again!!" Kammelina said, menacingly.

"Likewise," the Madscikoopa growled.

"Only this time," her sister continued. "You'll not be having any invincibility-fanatics nor any 'apparitionists' to help you!" Kammelina turned to glare at her.

"You ridiculous wench! Everyone knows there's no such thing as an 'apparitionist'!!"

"Of course there is! It means: 'One who studies ghosts'!"

"You just got that off of the internet, you bumbling baboon!"

"So what if I did, 'dear sister'?"

"IT WOULD MEAN YOU HAVE CROSSED OVER TO THE SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY, YOU TRAITOROUS SORCERESS!!!" The look on Dr. Kamenstein's face grew weirder and weirder as he watched the two of them argue, once more, for barely any reason at all. Once that dimmed down, Kammelina said to him, "Consider yourself lucky, Shelled Creeper! You get to sit back and watch the show while we get to make that potion!!" The two of them broke into a conjoined " Bleh heh heh heh heh heh hehh..." and got started...

Dr. Kamenstein snapped back to the present. The potion!! By that time, it really had come to life. It wasn't much more than a pure green light emitting its way from the depths of the cauldron.

"Success, sister! And you said we needed Marinotropolan swine..."

"Silence, sister! Let's see what it does..." Kammelina approached the cauldron and flew her arms out in a religeous Y-formation. "Oh, great mass of our creation; lend me your ears! You shall-"

BBLLLOORRRPP! SMMAAASSHHH!! The slime disobeyed its orders, formed a long, disgusting pseudopod of itself, and flew out the front door... While it was still closed (hence leaving a big mess). The two female Magikoopas rushed to the wreckage.

"What in-" Kammeo started. She was yanked down by her sister, though.

"INCOMING!!!" she screeched. The big, fat laser of gunk swam its way back into the cottage, pierced right through Kamenstein's chain, and formed another big mess as it flew out of the newly-formed sunroof. The sight of what just happened in addition to the new hole they had as well as the escaped prisoner didn't allow them to do much more than just stand and stare.

"I TOLD YOU WE NEEDED MARINOTROPOLAN SWINE!!!" Kammelina fumed.

"Would you stop YELLING ALL THE TIME?!? IT'S HURTING MY EARS!!" her sister screamed back, inserting her rotating fingers into her previously mentioned natural accessories.

"Not as much as THIS IS GOING TO!!" She whipped out her wand and pointed it at her.

"HA!! DO YOUR WORST, SISTER!!" While the two of them were busy "cat-fighting" amongst themselves, their former prisoner was busy fleeing from the wreckage off to his Sky-Pop which was still there and still intact. Better than that as a matter of fact: The ooze flew out to fill his plane up with the fuel he needed. It looked as though the visit wasn't a big mistake after all!

"Oh, come now," he grumbled, hopping back in, equipping the helmet again. "Tell me: Who saw that coming?!?" Within a matter of seconds, he was back in the sky, on his way to Gana Village. Meanwhile, the witches had just climbed out of their respective piles of makeshift "snow-forts". They were about to fire a few more blasts at eachother, when Kammeo suddenly stopped the fight.

"WAIT!! Look, sister..." She pointed to the hole in the ceiling. They stood there observing a plane-shaped speck flying its way across the morning sky, as the orange sun was rising. Kammelina turned towards Kammeo again.

"Well, that settles it," she said. "Grab your broomstick, Kammeo; we're going to Marinotropolis..."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**  
Morning was once again upon the Yoshies of that tropical isle. The sky gradually worked its way up from black to a pale blue. He hadn't suffered any new attacks that night, but still, things weren't going too well for him.

In spite of everything, things around the village began to start back up like normal. Their morning routines continued with hustling, bustling, and fruit-related business. Xoshi's morning, however, didn't exactly begin overnight. He didn't get any sleep.

_...So, if it were me, I would have made it so that each world was composed of 3 sets of levels, the first one of one, the second one of 24, the third one of seven, but of course- Blast it, why don't those stupid birds ever shut up?!_ Xoshi was thinking. Of course it didn't really have much relevence to the thoughts he was happening to have about multiple storylines. The conversations he had with himself in his head tended to drift from topic to topic. Come to think of it, he was pretty surprised that he was able to steer his thoughts away from the troubles he was having, which reminded him of just what he didn't want to think about, but knew he had to anyway. Another conversation started.

_Good morning,_ Xoshi, the spirit named Beel thought to him.

_NN-guh. Morning,_ Xoshi grumbled mentally. That night, the two of them managed to work up some way to differentiate between thinking to one's self, one's "head-mate", and one's memories. This was another of those times when they were on to the "head-mate" issue.

_I... Take it rest was mediocre,_ Beel thought to him.

_You got that right,_ thought Xoshi. He got up out of bed to stretch, massage that awful, sleepless feeling out of his tired eyelids, and reluctantly decided to begin his waking process, although some extra chances for slumber would have been appreciated, but they were obviously not going to come to him, what with all the action that was going on. _Let's get this over with,_ he thought. He was referring to preparing for their outragrageous trip to Isle Delfino.

_Yes, let's._ At that, they proceeded onwards to commit their mandatory acts. As usual, Xoshi had a few other Yo'sters to walk around in order to make it to his odd shortcut. Once he got to that opening once more, a thought came from Xoshi to Beel.

_Hey,_ he thought to him. _Now that we're technically sharing the same mind, can you take control of my body?_

_Well, I'm not sure if the way to answer that would start with the word "fortunately" or "unfortunately", but either way, I can't._

_...Can't answer?_

_Can't control you. You are, afterall, in charge of your own self._

_Hmm..._ Xoshi continued walking after that. He was a little closer to the botanical hut again when Beel thought something more to him.

_Say, wasn't that Yoshi fellow to stop by, by now?_

Xoshi stopped walking. Had anyone else have been there, they probably would have taken note of his unusual behavior. It was tough having a foreign spirit in his head. _What did I tell you about reading my mind?_ Xoshi scolded.

_...Sorry._

_Besides, he's... not as fanatical as I am. He only visits on Sundays._

_Whereas, you visit daily._

_Pretty much._ Xoshi continued walking. He was inside the hut, although, like half the time, the priest was out. He didn't always need his presence in order to pray to the Super-Happy Tree. He moved on through the back and onward down that semi-hallway.

_If that's the case, how will you be able to survive on this trip?_

At first, Xoshi thought his personal memories were being invaded again, but he let it slide since that last line didn't seem to have more intrusion than simple detective traits and curiosity. _I get around,_ Xoshi thought. Once he was in its presence, he began to "talk" to it again.

_Good morning, Xoshi,_ the Super-Happy Tree said to him.

_Good morning._ He repeated his prayers as usual, but, like yesterday, he had a little extra to talk about. _Mother, something crazy happened last night... Could it have anything to do with the dream?_

_Just about anything could be connected to anything, dear. You'll just have to find out on your own._

_Yes, Mother._ After telling it the bizarre story and gathering its fruit, he headed on back.

_You told her,_ Beel said to Xoshi, probably accusingly.

_She's the only person I trust._

_...Really?_

_Well, that was a slight exaggeration. I mean, who else could I be able to talk to about things I've never told anyone before?_

_Hmm..._ At that, the two of them left the sacred area, went back through the opening and the shortcut, without incident as before. However, as soon as they got a little back into the village...

"WHAT?! Who set this up?!" Xoshi got that Deja Vu feeling again. Boshi was yelling at Yazzee. Exactly what about was pretty obvious.

" I did!! Sort of."

He said something else, then handed the same paper over to Boshi. Boshi read it over a little, then said something like, "Googa looga snory fargy snargy spu hoo??"

"Just keep readin' it!" At that point, Xoshi was standing in the very spot that would form a triangle between the three characters. "Oh, hi there, Xoshi! Boshi here is just a little reluctant to go on our little trip!"

"You told him about it today?!" Xoshi said, exasperatedly.

"Well, yeah! I mean, I meant to tell him about it earlier, and..."

Xoshi groaned and let his face fall into his hands. He shook his head a little as Boshi continued reading, then lifted it up to speak. "Yazzee, you have got to stop being so flaky all the time. It stresses people out!!"

"I know, but..."

Little did they know, as their conversation was carrying on further, two mysterious figures were watching from the bushes of the distance.

"So that's their little game!! Listen, Crookie; as soon as they have their ship arrive, we sneak aboard, and act as stowaways!"

"But, Boss, couldn't we just steal the doll right here and now while noone's guarding the house?"

"The broad daylight's guarding the house, dummy!! We're sneaking aboard, and that's final!!"

"But how can we sneak aboard in broad daylight?"

Sackle chuckled. "You just leave that to me, my narrow-minded apprentice!"

Crookie was flustered. "'N- Narrow minded'?!"

"That's what I said! Now follow me before you hurt yourself..."

"Gwugh!!" Crookie was once again grabbed by the collar of his attire and dragged into the deep woods behind them.

"By the way... For how long can you hold your breath?"

Later, the four of Yazzee, Xoshi, Yoshi, and Boshi were just about ready. Xoshi had managed to answer Beel's question of earlier with a small statue of the Super-Happy Tree.

"It's called an 'idol'," he explained. "You pray to it every night before you go to bed."

He packed that, a few fruits, and, of course, the forbidden doll (all according to plan). Pretty soon, the four of them were at the docks, awaiting their way of transportation. Once there, Xoshi couldn't help but take note of the new garment Yazzee was wearing.

"Yatzee, I mean, Yazzee," Xoshi stammered. "What are those things?"

"Oh, these? Why, they're my lucky dice! Never leave home without 'em." Yazzee was wearing a pair of fuzzy dice dangling from the "chest" of a necklace.

"But, when we went on that one mission against Kamek, you weren't wearing them," Xoshi contradicted.

"Huh? Oh, uh, sure I was! They can turn invisible, that's all!"

"Really," Xoshi said disbelievingly. He couldn't help but also notice a foul Boshi standing beside him. "'Still ticked off about the extemporaneous trip, Boshi?"

Boshi snorted. "All I'm gonna say is that they'd better have cookies!!"

"Hmm. Oookay." They waited a little while longer while the other Yoshies minded their own businesses. After some time and conversing had passed, finally a speck was beginning to show up in the distance. It grabbed the attention of Yazzee first.

"Hold up," he said, whipping a four-fingered hand above his eyes for focus. "Doth my eyes deceive me?!"

"Well, 'sabout time," Boshi grumbled. Xoshi and Yoshi caught on too; it was the ship!

"Well, boys, looks like pretty soon we'll be getting all that fruit and sunshine after all," Yoshi mused, scratching his chin.

"Alright," Xoshi said, taking his turn. As the faded image from the distance grew ever so slightly, a tap arrived upon the shoulder of Boshi. Boshi, un-startled, turned around. It was the purple one, Pish, followed by his two cronies, Oshi and Pinky.

"What's the latest, Pish?" Boshi said to him.

Pish responded. "Well, 'Boss', I was just wondering: Since you'll be spending a week or two over in 'everyone's favorite little paradise', who'll be left in charge in your place?"

Boshi snorted again. He shook his head and held out his arms, almost as though he was asking to be embraced. "You are, Pish!"

Pish gave himself a light slap on the "forehead". "Oh, yeah," he muttered.

"Just remember," Boshi said to him, while wrapping his right arm around his shoulders. "24/7, you gotta act cool, be cool, and always, ALWAYS race the slow."

"Gotcha, Boss," Pish nodded. Boshi slipped away from him pointing his left finger at him in a reassuring way. Then it was Pinky's turn.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Xoshi," he said to the brown Yo'ster. "Me and Oshi, here, will keep your house from any burglars while your gone." He said that while giving the air before him a confident pound with his left arm and fist. Xoshi simply nodded, feeling trusting, yet at the same time as though it wasn't really necessary.

"Thanks," he said.

"Yeah, we'll take 'em on! You just enjoy your vacation, Xosh!" said Oshi. "Xosh" gave another nod. Why did everyone keep calling him that?

Before long, the ship was at its designated docks. It was a modern, white thing with the title, "S. S. Dolpic", on its side. Everyone got all excited, and the boat let a platform fall down so the quartet would have had a way to walk on. A young Yoshi with pale green skin walked down to greet them. About him, he had an air of pure dignity, but strangely also an air of what almost seemed like creepiness. He moved his way to the fronts of Xoshi, Yazzee, Yoshi, and Boshi and began to speak in a youthful voice.

"Greetings, lucky winners. This is the boat to Isle Delfino, and I shall be your captain." He cocked his head specifically towards the yellow one with dice around his neck. "You're Yazzee, correct?"

Yazzee jumped up and down in excitement, even though the others were feeling a bit uneasy. "Yes! Yes, that's me!"

The captain let his eerie eyes shift a little, out of sync with his head to scan the others. "And these would be your companions?" he asked, practically suspiciously.

"Yup!" Couldn't that guy ever tone down his perkiness?

He glared at Yazzee, but it didn't seem to douse his mood. "Please present your letter of notication," he demanded.

"Oh! Right." Yazzee reached behind him and pulled out the infamous message. Xoshi was personally surprised that for once he was actually right on track. The captain took it from him and looked it over with his foreboding eyes. A second later, he lowered the paper and handed it back, mechanically. Yazzee took it as the others were beginning to feel as though maybe this guy didn't have a soul.

"That would be it," he said. "Let's be off." He turned and began waltzing back. Yazzee, of course, was the first to follow.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Let's go!" he stopped to say to them. Then he continued his journey. The three-some exchanged looks, shrugged shoulders, and trekked onwards. Behind them, their friends were calling.

"'Bye, Yoshi!"

"Don't forget to write!"

"Have a good time!"

"Bring back some sunshine!"

Once they were on, the four took it upon themselves to move to the back of the moving ship and wave back.

"See you all later!"

"I LOVE YOU, TOO!!"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"BYE!"

It was Yoshi, Yazzee, Boshi, and Xoshi that said those things in that order. Xoshi was busy waving with the others when suddenly he was hit in that same spot by that similar a coconut.

BONK! Sploosh...

"SORRY!" Xoshi heard a familiar voice say as he commenced rubbing his nose like before.

"Sheesh," he muttered. The ship drifted off further, and more people were waving.

Azure, of course, was still moving his arm back and forth in the gesture of goodbyes. Rachi, beside him, was muttering something about being in hope that they would bring back some "sunshine". Not too far away from them, the Yoshi Priest and his daughter, Jeila were present.

"Ah, that Xoshi. Someday he'll probably be the one guarding the Super-Happy Tree. I know that boy will make me proud."

"Be safe, Xoshi..."

The ship was already a great distance away from the docks. The creepy Yoshi captain was showing them around.

"...And this," he was saying. "Is my first mate, Jax. He doesn't speak Yoshish, but he makes for one reliable crewmember." Jax was a little brown man with a goatee, a white shirt, and a pair of purple shorts. He said something to the vacationers in English, and made a gesture of acknowledgement. Then he continued working. "For those of you who didn't understand, he said, 'Greetings, friends! Enjoy the trip!'"

"Oh. How nice of him," Boshi said, probably in a sarcastic manner. At that, the tour continued.

"And this is the hold. Here, we keep all of our crates and stuff." There wasn't much to look at besides a room loaded with stacks and stacks of various Delfino brand boxes.

"Neat," Yazzee commented.

"And here would be your quarters, but since only two are available, you'll... Have to figure it out on your own," he said unusually as usual.

"Great," Boshi moped.

Once the five Yoshies were on the deck again, the captain told them, "Which concludes the tour. Of course, the real tour shan't come until later."

_Of course,_ Xoshi thought.

_Logically, the isle ought to be dozens of sizes larger,_ Beel thought back.

"Lunch will be served in about an hour. Please, be ready by then, and while your waiting..." He let loose another one of his trademark pauses. "Enjoy yourselves..." Then he disappeared to below the surface.

"What a weirdo," Boshi broke the silence.

"'You sure this was such a great idea, Yazzee?" Xoshi asked.

"Oh, come on; he's not that creepy," Yazzee mused. He wandered off to explore certain areas of the ship. The others stayed behind for a second. With a shake of the head and a "Hoy", Boshi was off, too. It was just Xoshi and Yoshi. The two of them meandered over to the the ship's railing and made themselves comfortable, side by side.

"Yazzee's a flake," Xoshi said, starting the conversation.

"He's a scatter-brained one, alright," Yoshi agreed.

"Well, personally, I feel as though winning this free trip for no reason in one day (and through Yazzee, might I add) was bad enough. Now we're on a boat with only two other people, one of them, a human who doesn't even speak our own language, the other one, a guy that's as strange and freaky as all get out."

"He may be a Yoshi like us, but there must be others like him at Delfino. Maybe he's considered 'normal' there!"

"Maybe. But.. That's just so hard to imagine!"

"Ah, we'll probably grow accustomed to it in time."

Xoshi sighed. "It feels like this just keeps getting worse and worse."

Yoshi turned his head towards him. "Hm?"

"Come on; don't you feel as though something bad is going to happen?"

Yoshi hummed a little out of contemplation. "Maybe a little. I wouldn't worry about it, though. After all; we were the ones that took down those koopas!"

"Ah... I guess you're right..."

* * *

Meanwhile, those very "koopas" were on the same ship as before, going about their various businesses. Arris was steering the ship for their destination, the oddly-named Clattagin Woods, a green Koopa Troopa was doing room service, and Kamek was at one of the round, white clothed tables of the ship's dining room writing stuff down.

_"...I didn't think it was possible, but the villainess was then squashed by the same spaceship as before. In the process, the whole place started to crumble. A miracle was all it was that allowed-"_

Kamek stopped to continue deeper with his thinking. Was this what always happened when people were busy writing their memoirs? Or was it that...

"Blast," Kamek muttered. "How did I wind up having to write Gorroh's memoirs?! I can't believe the things I'm making up about him!! 'Timulators', melting ice caps... It's all rubbish!" He used his left arm and elbow to hold his head up above the table and his right hand to strum his fingers impatiently. Then inspiration hit him. "But of course!" He continued writing down the tripe.

_"-that allowed the rubbish to survive the blow..."_

The same green Koopa Troopa approached. "Another Maple Syrup, Sir?" he asked.

"What? Oh. Yes, please." Kamek took it obligingly.

As he was ridding the bottle of its cork once more, the servent was bringing up something else. "Did you know that they're throwing some kind of sweepstakes with those syrups?"

"Yes, I did," Kamek said, not caring. He took a sip of it.

"They say you could win some kind of fancy-"

"-Yes, yes. Why don't you go and offer someone else another one of these, hm?"

The Terra Pin was a little insulted, but he obeyed nonetheless. He sulked off and let Kamek continue with his work. Kamek was making more stuff up as he went along. The pen in his right hand moved this way and that making up more lies, when suddenly the hand started to hesitate. Upon further inspection, Kamek's face wasn't looking any more willing. Something was wrong.

"Ahh..." he moaned quietly. Then he saw it: Two apes, a male and a female, obliterating a Koopa with wild, blue hair. It was there for a second, then the image of the dining room returned to his eyes. He stood still for a spell, blinked twice and shook his head. "Strange," he muttered, and he continued with the false statements...

* * *

"...So some people actually believe that there are only four elements?" Xoshi was saying.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"But Rachi was telling me the other day how there's a theory going on about how there probably actually is twelve, including 'Shadow'. You know how everyone's got an elemental connection?"

"Yeah?"

"They're saying how whatever your attribute is, it can be determined by what those of your parents were. I'm not exactly sure how it works, though. Rachi might have showed me the grid for it once. It was something like... If your mother was 'Fire' and your father was 'Ice', somehow that would make you 'Water'."

"Huh. Weird."

"Yeah. Oh, and speaking of parents, do you know who that one orange guy is?"

"Um..."

"The one with the son that keeps hitting me in the nose with a coconut?"

"Oh, you mean Loshi."

"Yeah, him. I don't know, it just appauls me that the guy would have so little control over his own child as to not know how to get him to stop doing that to me."

"Yeah. Some people..."

"The priest told me I had yet to become a father myself. I can't wait!"

"Heh heh. I'm sure you can't," Yoshi joked back. That was when Boshi arrived for them.

"Hey, slowpokes, lunch is ready. Now, are you two going to come and eat, or are you just gonna stand there talking about the supernatural?"

Xoshi interjected. "Well, lunch sounds nice, but we weren't talking about the supernatural, or anything." The two of them began to follow Boshi back to below the deck.

"That's good! The less you talk about it, the better," Boshi voiced.

"Wha- Why?" Xoshi was a little offended.

"Because! It's weird! You don't want people thinking you're weird, do you?"

"You don't want people to think of you as a stuck-up jerk, do you?"

"Now, let's not change the subject! I'm just saying that it's probably more healthy for you to look at the more logical/rational sides to life. My pappy always told me, 'Believe too much in all that "hooie", and maybe eventually you will get sucked into another dimension! That wouldn't be good.'"

"Oh, the mental aspects those parents can corrupt," Yoshi retorted.

"Parents were what we were really talking about," Xoshi said.

"Yeah, but still. I'd be hearing you go on about how you heard voices the other night or how you thought you saw a shadowy figure... No."

At that point, they were in the room of crates like before. Xoshi had his next sentence prepared. "Come on, Boshi, not everything has a scientific explanation to it. Aren't you the least bit religeous?"

Boshi stopped in his tracks and turned around. He scratched his chin a little and finally held up one finger. "'You know how there used to be a secret military base known as 'Half Moon'?"

"Yeah," both Xoshi and Yoshi said at once.

"You know there were rumors goin' about about how they had a big weapon, or something, capable of changing the moon's face?"

"Yeah."

"You know how it was locked up in a room, and the only way to get in that room was to enter, you know, the password?"

"Yeah."

"You know how only one guy was able to find that password, and he got executed by the moon freaks for knowing top-secret information?"

"Yeaahhh." The "you know"s and the "yeah"s were starting to get old at this point.

"And you know how eventually they shut the place down, but years later, some guy broke into it, and even though all the employees were dead, and their lips was sealed, this guy got the password just right, and in one try?"

"Riigghht."

"Some say it was the ghost that told him what it was. Others say he reincarnated. I say..."

"Yes?"

"...He got lucky."

THUD! Both Xoshi and Yoshi topped off their words of synchronization by falling faces downwards onto the hard floor.

"Yeah, but you know it's true." He was saying this while the two of them were getting up rubbing their bulbous noses. Boshi held up his closed hand. "In this world, there are only two ways you can win: Through skill, and through luck."

"What about cheating?" Yoshi suggested.

"That'd go under the 'skill' category."

The creepy Yoshi captain stepped into the room from beyond.

"Your lunch is getting cold," he said forebodingly.

"Funny; I didn't think fruit could get any colder," Yoshi joked.

The captain just glared and let the three follow him back. In the room at the end of the hallway, past the "bedrooms", was a kitchen of sorts. Really, it was more of another storage room, but with hordes of fruit littered everywhere. Yazzee was already there and helping himself with his long tongue.

"Hey, guys! This stuff's great!" Once again, Xoshi and Yoshi got that unconfident feeling, but they decided to go ahead and enjoy themselves anyway.

Strangely, this almost seemed to make the time go by a lot quicker. As the ship sailed onward, and the food's rations continued to gradually deplete, two suspicious figures were making the water bubble up from the back of the bottom of the ship. FWOOSH! They were up and about. The blue-capped boss and his yellow-capped apprentice began to claw their ways up the "wall".

"Boss," Crookie croaked. "I don't ever wanna see water again."

"Oh, come on, wimp. It wasn't that bad." They continued upward, and soon they were on board, albeit still dripping wet. Their next destination was the hold. "Just a few more paces, and we'll be in the clear."

"But, Boss, what about that little man over there?" Brightly, Crookie was referring to Jax who was still mopping the floors of the ship.

"Time it right, doofus! If we can make it down there without him seeing us, then we'll have outsmarted the sun and every sentient being it has shined down upon ever since it arose!"

"You're so romantic, Boss."

"And smart, too! Now stay on your toes..." Jax thought he heard something, so he looked around a little, but not being able to see a pair of bandits hiding behind the corner over there, he decided to shrug it off and continue working. "Go! Go! Go!" Sackle rushed himself and his whiny apprentice through the slightly open door before Jax could notice anything unusual again. Once they were in the shadows, Sackle breathed a sigh of relief. "That was too close. Let's get moving."

"Righ-toh, Boss!" At that, they began to quietly amble down the ladder leading to the crate room. Once they were amidst all those boxes, curiosity got to Crookie once more. "That doll couldn't be in here, could it?"

"Of course, not! It's in his room, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..."

And so, the two thieves continued their journeys to the quarters of the four Yoshies. Sackle got one room while Crookie got the other. They checked every last nook and cranny, making sure not to leave much evidence that their rooms had been raided while they were away minding their meals. They may have been able to have come across a few eggs, a few fruits, a few cookies, and maybe even a few pictures of particularly attractive female Yoshies, but that was about it. Soon, the two of them were out of those rooms and back amongst eachother.

"Any luck?" Sackle asked.

"Nope. Sorry, Boss."

"Well, we'll just have to keep on looking, then!"

Just when they were about to "keep on looking", Disaster struck, and the two of them needed a place to hide.

"Footsteps! And they're coming our way! Quick; gotta hide!!"

"Gwugh!!"

"Man, I couldn't eat another bite!"

"I may have to sneak into this place at night..."

Yazzee and Yoshi said that. Since the meals were over, they could retire to wherever they might have wanted to go. Boshi went to his temporary bedroom (shared with Yazzee) and the other three returned to the surface. They passed right through the crate section and up the ladder without incident.

"Cripes! Another close one!" said Sackle from behind one of the wooden boxes.

"Yeah, it was," said Crookie from another.

"Now let's return to finding that- Hold on! Gotta hide again."

The two of them couldn't come out just yet. Another trespasser was coming on through. It was that Yoshi captain. He ambled his way into the room, lifted the top off of one of the crates, removed a strange bottle of red liquid, closed it back up, and leaned his form against the makeshift wall of storage contraptions. The next thing he did was indeed peculiar to the two thieves as they sneakily poked their heads out from behind: He was rhythmically tapping his rubber shoe-wearing foot against the floor. Then he left it there for a second or two before removing the top from his red drink. Then he sauntered off to the other depths of the ship, drinking his beverage along the way.

"That was odd," said Crookie.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you see what he was tapping his foot against?" said Sackle. The two of them emerged and took a gander at what the boss was talking about.

"Well, what do ya know, Boss! It's a trap door!" his apprentice said excitedly.

"How silly of us! Thinking it was somewhere else when that would have clearly been unlike that brown guy! That was your fault, Crookie."

"But- But you said-"

"Enough chat! Let's get to jimmying this thing open, shall we? Crookie; crowbar."

Instead of futilely arguing with his superior on who was to take credit for what, Crookie obeyed as usual, slinging down his sack of goodies to rummage around in until coming across what his mentor wished for.

"Thanks again, Crookie! Here we go!! Hhhhuuurrrggghhh ugh ugh UGH! GurrrrrrrRRRPHH!!! N- Gah!!!"

Unfortunately, any logic that was calculated beforehand was soon questioned as the two of them realized that the same technique as before was not working.

"What's with this thing?!" Sackle fumed as he wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead. The jimmy didn't stick like before, but rather it fell to the floor with a clatter.

"You know, Boss," Crookie was saying. "Maybe this isn't really a trapdoor afterall."

"WHAT?! Changing minds on me now, are ya?! A second ago you were saying it was!!"

"But- But-"

"That's great thinking, Crookie! Now, how can we open this?"

Crookie was flabbergasted by how quickly his boss's mood could swing. He shook his head over it and began to ponder.

"Well, boss, maybe there's a switch or-"

"-Shut it, Crookie! We gotta hide!!"

"Gwugh!!" For about the third time (or so) that day, he was pulled aside by his boss. That time, Jax was coming down. He was descending, hopping down, and walking through while singing some song in English.

_"If I were an animal,__  
__I'd like to be a bee,__  
__'Cause then I'd be able to sting the ones__  
__Who obliterated me..."_

The song and the little man faded away quickly, and Crookie spoke up.

"A bee? If I were an animal, I'd be a-"

"-Shut it!! We obviously can't be doing this during the daytime even if we're where the sun don't shine!"

"You-"

"-We'll have to wait 'til nightfall..."

Crookie silently agreed as Jax returned with an assortment of things in his arms, from rusty buckets to telescopes.

_"I would be so yellow,__  
__Making puns of 'honey',__  
__Which I would puke up the day away__  
__For ones to sell for money..."_

Once again, his body and his voice disappeared. The two were alone again, but they weren't taking any risks."'Gonna be a laaawwwnng day..."

* * *

Kamek was at a loss again. What happened after the archery contest? Curse those writer's blocks. Just then, the door to the very dining room he was then in swung open again. The big, red Gorroh Koopa walked in and up to his royal vizier.

"How are the memoirs coming along, Kamek?" he asked, trustingly.

"Splendid," Kamek said, mopily.

"Let's have a look." Gorroh was almost imitating his wife from before, taking the papers and looking them over. His head moved gently from side to side until it stopped and his bushy eyebrows scrunched. "'Peachie'?! I wouldn't say that!"

"Well, Sire, you did tell me to write down what came to mind."

"Hm. True, I did. Carry on, then." He set them down and began to walk over to the buffet table. Kamek continued improvising as Gorroh was piling all kinds of junk onto his plate.

_"'...So, dear, how was your adventure against the Super Mushroom League?'_

_'Peachie. You should have been, there, dear. There were floating masks, underground caverns, and everything! In fact: One of the dungeons had the cutest little-'"_

Gorroh sat down from across him and began to noisily munch away at his gargantuan delectables of choice. Much to the displeasure of the high-ranking Magikoopa, bits of duck and muffin were flying from the Koopa King's mouth, some of it landing on the papers. Kamek scowled, gathered the fruits of his labor and left to sit at a different table.

"'Something the matter, Kamek?" Gorroh asked, looking up from his over-piled plate.

"I just needed another chair, that's all." The excuse didn't seem good enough, though.

"Kamek, surely you could have just traded," Gorroh said, viciously chomping off the top of his corn cob, very unceremoniously.

"I'm fine, thank you," he said simply.

"Mm. Suit yourself!" the king grunted, and he continued devouring his mess.

Kamek wrote a little more, then felt the need to strike up conversation. "I say, your highness, how is young master Bowser doing?"

"Oh, he's doing fine. Just taking his afternoon nap, is all."

"Ah." Those last two comments didn't seem to allow much else to branch out, so Kamek took it up a notch. "Sire, I think I had another vision."

He paused to look up with a strand of pasta dangling from his closed mouth. "Hm?"

"A little while ago, I saw... Two apes... Defeating another Koopa. He could have been related to you, Sire."

"Hmm. Mofe imfereffing." Gorroh's mouth was too full of croissant to allow him to speak coherently. His next move was to just grab the whole plate and let its contents slide down his wide open maw. He chewed them around a little, washed it down with a little water, swallowed hard, wiped his mouth, and got up. "This could mean that it won't just be those pesky Marios that will be causing us problems in the future, correct?" Gorroh hypothesized.

"I suppose so. But until I come up with another vision, we'll just have to wait it out and hope for the best."

"Alright. Now I must return to the massage tables, and you must return to the memoirs."

"Yes, Sir." Gorroh lumbered his way out, leaving Kamek alone with the story and his thoughts.

_This power of mine... It can be such a blessing and such a curse..._

* * *

While Yazzee and Yoshi were conversing on the other side of the ship, Xoshi was on the other getting pensive again.

_Hey, Beel,_ he thought, _who shall we be recruiting, and where will we find them?_

_Well,_ Beel started with interest even himself, _one of them is named Jeremiah. We shall find him at the top of a mountain._

_Geez,_ thought Xoshi. _This is turning out to be some adventure, huh?_

_Yes, quite. Also, we'll meet a man simply known as "White Rose". We'll find him in Dry Dry Outpost._

_Wow._

_Another is named Guido. We'll find him in-_

"Xoshi. Dinner."

Xoshi jumped as Boshi snuck up again.

"A- Alright," he complied. The two of them headed on back like before. "Hey, Boshi," he asked, "how come you're always the one who gets to tell us when it's time to eat?"

Boshi just shrugged his shoulders, and the two of them entered that door together like before to the hold.

_I guess we'll just have to continue this conversation later,_ thought Beel.

They were gone and Jax was still singing as he walked up to the front of the ship.

_"My favorite color's green.__  
__It's pleasing to my eyes..."_

He was getting out the telescope to spy on the upcoming spectacle.

_"It's like a jelly bean.__  
__It can mesmerize."_

He spied (with his little eye) an island off in the distance, growing ever larger with each passing second.

_"Va voom. Va voom. Va voom va voom va voom..."_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**  
The afternoon was just barely creeping into the midst of the evening at that point. Over on Lava Lava Island, Fyooshi was deep in the jungle somewhere helping himself to some of the fruit horde that he and Raphael managed to attain over the period of time they spent away from the village and those awful space aliens. They were then in a small opening; a circle of trees surrounded them, protecting them, in a sense, from any intruders that would have been less than welcome. Well, Fyooshi was there at least. He was quite enjoying himself since it wasn't that dark yet, Raphael, who was super-strong, wasn't too far off, and the fruit has always made him happy to an extent. But as usual, his Richter Scale of fear waited to go off. Just when all was at peace for another second, that pen started to scribble like mad again. He heard a few rustlings, stopped in the middle of his consumption, and turned around to observe the source of the unsettling sound. A big, black figure jumped out, and it made Fyooshi himself jump. "OHHH!" he screeched, femininely. It wasn't like he needed to, though. It was just Raphael. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought it might have been another one of those aliens!"

"Well, their technology is superior," Raphael stated.

Fyooshi didn't understand. "What?" he asked.

"I'm saying that, even though we are quite far away from them at the moment, there's still a chance they might be able to use their tracking devices to find us and 'get' us."

"Oh... Dear." Fyooshi started nibbling away, nervously, at his non-existent nails.

Raphael restarted the conversation. "Anyway, you finish up dinner, and we'll have to keep moving."

"What? Oh." Fyooshi remembered the real matter at hand. He continued eating...

* * *

"Another cocktail, Sir?" said a sweet, female purple crewmember. The scene was then taking place inside the very room that was for "authorized personnel only", and, oh, what a room it was. Apparently, this sanctum was dedicated for the extra special crewmembers, what with the music, the various tables, and whatnot, not to mention the vast array of diversified delicacies and drinks. This just happened to be where the captain, Wart, and the newly-promoted Cutlass, among others, could be found at the moment. The handsome, silver swordsman of glorious, long, white hair, then garbed in a much fancier wardrobe, one striped with yellow and purple to replace the plain former, took the offered beverage with much appreciation from the held-up platter of the woman before.

"Ah, yes. Thank you," he replied politely. She sauntered off to be her helpful, charming self a bit more. He turned around again, his right hand holding the glass, the other one in his pocket. Another silver who was nearby decided to strike up conversation with him.

"So, Cutlass, how do you like your new position?" he asked in a charismatically deep voice.

"It's great," he responded. He took a sip and continued. "It feels as though I'm finally gaining the recognition I deserve."

"Yeah, I remember feeling that way. It was a catastrophic night over on the planet-"

-HWWWOOONNNKK. Something was obviously not right. It was as though some cruel hand of inter-dimensional proportions suddenly warped the very room they were then enjoying themselves in. The others panicked a little as the tables and their selves began to slide in the wrong direction.

"Oh, those idiots," the captain grumbled. He was looking significantly better than he did during that last apprehension, but was still annoyed. "Wart, see if you can't chew them out."

_"YES, SIR."_ The overgrown frog began to waddle off in the right direction. Meanwhile, a few of the lesser staff-members were trying desperately to get things back under control. It was no easy task since there wasn't any telling what body or obstacle was going to slip and stumble upon them next. A few flips, a scourge of screams, a collection of crashes, and one splash ending up on a girl's front later, a rumbling _"...! ...-..-...! ...!"_ ensued, and shortly after that, the alignment of the ship began to restore order. However, that wasn't much less cataclysmal. A little more confusion and fuss resulted, but pretty soon, the attendants were able to relax once more. The partygoers had to brush themselves off a little, and with a mildly amused outburst, they resumed their socializing. Shortly, the captain and Wart could talk once more, and so could Cutlass. _"MISSION ACCOMPLISHED,"_ was what he said.

"Excellent. Now, what were we talking about?" he said while rubbing his chin.

_"THE D.K.J. TREATY."_

"Ah, yes. I think it's a splendid idea. It reminds me of what my father used to tell me..."

Cutlass and the other man resumed. Things were back on track, as also was the conversation. "Sheez, those repairmen still can't steady the ship right?" said Cutlass.

"I suppose not."

"Anyway, you were saying?"

"Ah, yes. A memory of mine that is quite vivid to me...

"This time, the captain decided his mission was to invade a planet called Glynn. It was one of prosperous vegetation and intelligent creatures called Onifs. He had a plan of capturing the strongest ones, hypnotizing them, and turning them into his army of extra faithful minions. But there was one area of the planet that he couldn't quite conquer. Not even zapping it with the Breaker Beam helped! So we had to take it out from the inside..."

"Uh-huh."

"I was one of the soldiers that was chosen for the mission. It turned out this place was actually one big forest, and the only way inside it was the one part that was sealed. It was covered in vines, and we needed some kind of flute to undo them. This flute could only be found inside one of their temples. Finding out about it, locating it, and invading it wasn't easy. It was like a maze in there! There were all these obstacles, puzzles, traps, monsters, and demons. The final one looked like a gigantic turtle with two long heads. That was left up to the captain to take down. Unfortunately, since he had to kill it in the process, he couldn't hypnotize it. But it wasn't as though it could fit in any of the ship's tubes, but still...

"We got the flute, and the final forest was ours for the taking. Little did we know that that temple was just a warm-up. All of those things about the other one couldn't even compare, lemme tell you. Then came the big finale. The captain sent us one by one to survive the next hallway, but it was a tough one. After the third or fourth man got his head severed, it was my turn. The trick was actually to jump, roll, side-step, front-flip, slide, and lie down flat. Years of gymnastics finally paid off..."

Cutlass was just about done with his cocktail, but his interest in the story remained intact. "Wow," he said simply, as the party resumed around them.

"Yes, but this was what got me promoted: It turned out all along the big boss was just ahead, and since I was the only one that made it, I had to take it down. It was this huge bird with four wings on its back. Man, it was flapping its powerful wings at me, zapping me with its eye-lasers, and everything. I tried and tried, but I couldn't find the weakness! Finally, when it lunged its big beak at me, I took my sword and I hacked its godforsaken head right off!"

"Alright," said Cutlass, impressed.

"Yeah, I know. The glory and praise didn't come until after I returned from that room, though. I had the monster's head in one arm and my weapon in the other. Everyone applauded and the captain said he'd give me a promotion. Ever since, I've been wearing this nice thing, and living it up." For a visual aide, he plucked a little at a corner of the chest of the similar fancy uniform he was wearing.

"That's good to hear," Cutlass said. Just when he finished the last bit of his drink, another lovely lady walked up to him.

"Another cocktail, Sir?" she asked him like the other one did.

"Yes, please," he responded. He took one of her full glasses in exchange for his empty one. Then she walked off and the party continued. Cutlass noticed how his fellow high-ranking minion seemed to eye her in a great deal of absorption.

"Ooh," he mused. "I think I'll go and try hitting on her..." That was what he did to excuse himself from the exchange of comments so he could walk off and chase after the maiden. This left Cutlass to swirl his drink around a little more, not exactly sure what to do next. Then one of the ship's frogs came up to him with poignantly powerful breath. His words were slurred and his balance was off.

_"'SCUSE ME, SIRR,"_ he practically belched. A look of disdain fell on Cutlass's face. _"COULDN'T HELB BUT NOTE THAT YOU WERE SWAPPIN' STUFF. WANNA HEAR MINE?!"_

Cutlass strummed his fingers against his glass nervously before finally saying, "Um, I've, uh, got an appointment to attend to..." Then he walked off at a speed that was a little faster than usual. The frog was left in his wake.

_"ALRIGHTY, THEN. BYE-BYE. HIC "_

"...And that is why you can never trust a Goomba. Ever," the captain finished.

_"I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE, SIR. YOU CAN NEVER BE TOO SURE OF THEIR SHANNANNIGANS..."_

"Indeed," the captain said. They stood a little allowing a void to make way for itself in the middle of the talking. At last, he brought himself to say something else: "You know something, Wart; time and time again I have run the outline of this plan through my head. I can't help but think, nay, know that it is the best one I have ever concocted."

_"YES, SIR."_

"It's got everything: Hypnotized troops, weird circles, towns in chaos... How could we lose? I'm telling you, there's no getting past us this time..."

_"YES, SIR."_

The dreamy look of mild triumph on his face quickly faded into some type of frown at that instant. He looked down at his drink. "Now if only we could get this blasted spaceship off the ground..."

* * *

Fyooshi had finished his meal, and so it was once again about time for the two of him and his big, feathery ally to get up and press forward. As the two of them were working hard to squeeze through each of the flourishing forest's vibrant vegetation, Fyooshi was recalling the mission...

Earlier that day, one of the stops Raphael took him on was to a less grassy spot way out in the middle of the jungle. It was more of a dirt patch, really. In the middle of it was an elongated mound surrounded by flowers. Standing before it, side-by-side, the bird told him all about it.

"These are the burial grounds for the island's former ruler: Ramona, the Raven. She was the mother of both me and my brother, Ren. Everyone loved her, including the Yoshies. She watched over us and always knew what to do in a time of crisis. However, one day, she fell gravely ill, and there was nothing we could do. During her last days on Plit, she gave me the role of being the new ruler of this island. At last, the big day came, and we threw this funeral for her. Now she's here, resting her weary soul..."

Fyooshi was standing beside him with his head hung in contemplation as he processed Raphael's words.

"I did my best to fill her shoes, and, if I do say so myself, I did a pretty good job as the master of this island. I always knew my younger brother, Ren, was a little jealous of this position, but I never thought he'd ever become a problem...

"You see, one time, the Koopas came to our island. They coveted a certain magical item that has been in our family for generations: The revered Ultra Stone. It has the ability to raise one's power to great proportions! They were willing to do just about anything to get their greedy hands on it; even kill. It was horrible. My people... They were slaughtering Ravens and Yoshies left and right. Then it was my brother's turn. They tried asking him where it was, and when he refused to tell, I put myself in front of my brother so their Magikoopa couldn't do anything unforgiveable to him. I was fried to a crisp, but I lived. They questioned my actions, and I told them that I'd be willing to do anything for them as long as they just left. Somehow, we compromised, so instead of leaving with the Ultra Stone, they left with me. I was at their mercy. I had to help them pillage villages, kidnap princesses, and steal magic wands. If I didn't, they said they wouldn't hesitate to bomb Lava Lava Island. Finally, one time, they got mixed up in a situation with some babies and some Yoshies. So when the time came, the Magikoopa cast a spell on me so I could combat one of them. And now... I'm huge..."

Fyooshi nodded a little to show his understanding.

"Anyway, the fight didn't go over too well, and I ended up being blasted off far away into the stars. For days, I drifted through space. Then these aliens came along..."

This was what Fyooshi remembered being told in order to be filled in on the background on his humungous new ally. Finally, the two of them emerged from the woods and into another opening, with a nice blue tint granted by the night sky. Its dominant feature was a tree that was the size of the Empire State Building. Fyooshi couldn't help but put his astonishment into words as he gazed upon this leafy spectacle.

"Wow..." he mused. "So, this is where you live?"

"It's where I lived," Raphael corrected. "Currently, however, it's where my brother, Ren, resides. If you want a stop to be put to his evil schemes, we must enter and face him, man-to-man."

Fyooshi agreed whole-heartedly. Ever since Raphael was taken away, Ren had been abusing his power by forcing the Yoshies to build statues of him in the jungle and enforcing strict rules that would forbid them to do certain things at certain times and making them toil away at others. It was as unfair as unfair could be.

"Well, let's get going," Raphael said. They started taking a few more steps, but then something leaped in front of them out of nowhere.

WHOOSH!

"EEEEEEK!" Fyooshi screamed as he hid behind the gigantic Raphael who stood his ground. He poked his head out from around the corner to look at this new obstacle. It was a a little black creature, very similar to a Raven, but it had something growing on its forehead that Ravens generally were not known to have: A wide, curly unibrow.

"Greetings, friends!" it said. "The name's Razule. I enjoy walking on beds of pineapples and licking calculators!"

Fyooshi and Raphael exchanged weird looks. Raphael began communicating with it. "Uh, it's a... Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Razule, but-"

"No, nope! No! No 'mister'; just Razule."

"Um, well, yes... Razule. Listen: We were just about to enter the tree, here, so if you would, please step aside."

"Hey, hey, HEY, man, I don' think so! If you is-a gonna mess wit da tree, you is-a gonna mess wit ME! Got dat?" he spazzed, hopping up and down continuously. "?!?"

"Raphael," Fyooshi whined. "This guy is scaring me."

"Fear not, my friend," he whispered back. "I know how to deal with these types."

The mad being resumed its incessant hopping. "Hey, did you know that if you were to cross a box of tissues with an itch, you'd have an ish-"

THOOM!

"D'AAAAAAAAAaaaaaahhhhh!..."

In a matter of seconds, Raphael had managed to flex his birdly muscles, jump up into the air, and give the ground a good pound. The result was an ephemeral shockwave that made the ground ripple into a mass of catastrophe which sent the strange creature, Razule, flying way off into the distance. The two of them sat back and watched as his image got smaller and smaller against the night sky until it disappeared completely.

"Well, then," said Raphael, "I do believe that's one character we won't be seeing for a while."

"Uh huh," said Fyooshi as he crept out from behind the giant Raven.

"Now without any further delay, let us enter the tree, shall we?" he said. Fyooshi nodded. With the sounds of various exotic jungle crickets chirping away in the background, the two of them continued to walk into the massive work of nature. With each step they took letting the grass flatten out beneath their feet, they were ever so closer to the corruptive tyrant they sought.

_Ren,_ Fyooshi thought. _We'll make sure you pay for the things you did to us..._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**  
Gorroh and Helga gazed together at that night's lucious full moon while standing by eachother right in front of their ship's railing, on its course to the Clattagin Woods. Things were quite peaceful.

"Dear," said Helga. "It's quite the lovely night, wouldn't you say so?"

"Indeed it is, my sweet petunia," he replied. "It's nights like these that remind me of the time we first met."

"Ah, yes," she purred as she edged in closer to him. "The time you kidnapped me from that one Toad creature."

"I know. It was such an experience." He let that hang in the air followed by the sound of the water flowing beneath them and all around them under that dark canvass.

Finally, she asked, "Speaking of kidnappings, dear, when exactly will we be getting to the Clattagin Woods?"

"In a moment, dear, in a moment. These things take time, you know. We can't very well be snatching babies when we have no fortress to bring them back to, now can we?"

"I suppose not," she replied. They stood still and let time drift slowly as they drifted across the sea towards the destination at a seemingly equal rate. Then she said to him, "Well, dear, I'm going to go check on our son. Do you mind?"

"Not at all, darling. I'll meet you back in our room. Does that sound good?"

"It's great, honey," she agreed. At that, they sauntered away from eachother so they could reach their designated rooms.

Uneventfully, she walked across the wooden floor of the deck, past some of the doors, and finally she reached the one her son was in. She extended a claw and knocked.

"If you anudduh wunnadose mean guys wit da needles, beat it!!"

"It's alright, Bowser, honey. It's Mommy," she elicited.

"Oh. Come on in!" he said. She then twisted the knob, pressed forward and came in, as instructed. This room had two beds in it, both of them mostly white complete with the plain covers and the ordinary bars. Her youthful offspring, Bowser, was in one of them with an icepack resting on his head, and a pair of bandages overlapping eachother on his snout, forming an X shape. Other than that, he was in good condition.

"How's Mommy's little baby?" she asked sweetly as she walked up to him, knelt down beside him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good," he said, with his mother resting her head on her folded arms, which she had laid down on the bed close to him. This caused the buoyant surface to smush downward in a slightly different direction. Her eyes were focused on him as she started talking.

"So, is there anything I can get for you? Something to eat? Something to drink? A bedtime story?"

"Oh! Bedtime story! BEDTIME STORY!!" Bowser bounced up and down in excitement at the suggestion, causing the pack of ice on his head to flop around.

Helga hurriedly tried to calm him down and get the icepack back atop its rightful spot. "Okay, okay, darling. Which one would you like to hear? The one about the beanstalk? The one about the pirate ship? The one about the Super-Happy Tree?"

Bowser heard something that struck his interest. "The Happy-Slappy what?" he asked.

"The Super-Happy Tree," she corrected. "Would you like to hear about that one, dear?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Yes! I wanna hear it! I wanna hear it!" He bounced some more.

"Okay," she said, reaching over his lap to pick the pack back up and place it back on his head. "Let's see, where to start..." she contemplated. "Oh, yes.

"Once upon a time, there was an island. Noone was on this island, except for an egg with green spots on it. One day, it hatched, all on its own, and out came a strange, but cute lizard-like creature. He looked around and asked, 'Where is everybody?' It didn't take him long to realize that he was all alone.

"So he decided to go on a journey in search of someone. He searched high..." She made legs out of her two pointing fingers and used them to walk across Bowser's icepack. His eyes shifted upward curiously to observe. "And he searched low..." She then playfully let them scuttle across his stomach. He jolted a little, being tickled like that.

"Did he find someone?" he asked.

"No, dear. He did not. However, he did find some-THING the next day. He noticed how his stomach kept making noises at him. Luckily, that was when his nose picked up a heavenly scent. An IRRESISTABLE scent. And you know what he found?"

"What?"

"Fruit. Sweet, delicious fruit. There was a whole horde of it in the tree right in front of him. Somehow, he was drawn to this food. As he approached it, he couldn't help but throw out his long, sticky, frog-like tongue at it, grab it with it, and swallow it. It was yummy."

_...Fwog-like tongue?_

"After eating that one, he soon found another one. He ate that one, too. Then another, and another and another. Soon enough, the tree was free of all of its fruit. But then he felt something. Something nice. 'What is this I'm feeling?' he asked himself. He soon found out he wasn't lonely anymore. He was happy.

"The next day, he continued his journey. Then he found a piece of fruit. But it wasn't in a tree like the other ones were. It was just sitting there, on the ground. He munched it up anyway.

"After that, he walked a little more, and he found ANOTHER one. He ate that, too, and after walking a little more, you know what he found next?"

Catching on, he guessed, "More fruit?"

"Exactly. In fact: He found a whole trail of fruit. But where was it all leading him? He wasn't sure, but he followed anyway, eating all the way. So he kept following and eating, following and eating, following and eating, until finally he bumped into someone."

Bowser gasped.

"He couldn't believe it, either! After following that trail, he finally found someone. Not just anyone, as a matter of fact; a special someone. This someone looked a lot like him, but it was a girl.

"He asked her, 'Are you a someone?'

"And she said, 'Yes. My name is Nisha.'

"He said, 'My name is Yoshi'.

Bowser had a puzzled look smeared across his face. He turned his head towards her and said, "...Yoshi?"

"Yes, dear; Yoshi.

"They became fast friends. They did everything together from gathering fruit to having races with one another. They grew up together. And one day, Yoshi realized something else: He wasn't just happy anymore; he was super-happy.

"They even had a million kids together. Pretty soon, they, too, were all grown up, and Yoshi and Nisha had grown old.

"One day, they were on a hill together on their little island, watching the sun set and their thousands of children. They were proud. Yoshi said to her, 'Nisha, I'm ready to go now.'

"She said, 'So am I.' And the two of them kissed eachother."

Bowser screwed up his face and stuck out his tongue. "Bleagh!!"

Helga laughed. She continued the story. "As they were kissing, they slowly faded away into thin air. But then you know what happened?"

"What, mama?" Bowser asked.

"Then something sprouted right out of the ground from where they were just standing. It was a baby tree! So even though Yoshi and Nisha were gone, that tree and their children were still there. In Heaven, Yoshi and Nisha watched over them both. They made sure the tree would get its sunshine and their children would get their fruit. As the days went by, the tree grew, and so did their children. Eventually, the tree became full grown and their children started having children of their own. And it went on like this...

"So had it not have been for Yoshi and Nisha's efforts, Yoshi's Island would not be here today. Had it not have been for the fruit, their children would not have been happy. But had it not have been for their tree, they would not have been SUPER-happy. For this tree gave them fruit like none other. Some even would come and see the tree everyday to get some of it. The tree could also talk and give the children advice.

"And so the Yoshies are still alive today, enjoying themselves with their fruit and their beloved Super-Happy Tree, that watches over them with Yoshi and Nisha. The End."

With her story done, she then began leaning Bowser back and tucking him in for the night, being careful to make sure that ice pack stayed on his head.

As her hands were busy straightening out the covers, Bowser turned to her. "Mama?" he asked.

"Yes, dear?" she said once she was finished with the sheets and looking at him in the eye.

"Is the Super-Happy Twee weal?"

"Yes, dear, it's real."

Bowser scrunched his eyebrows in contemplation. "Does it weally make all dhose Yoshies Super-Happy?"

"Yes, dear, it does."

Bowser thought some more. "What would happen if it disappeared?"

Helga was standing at this point. "I'm not sure, dear. They would be really sad, I guess."

Bowser laid back in silence for a second. Then he said, "Okay, mama."

"Goodnight, Bowser." She bent down, kissed him on the cheek again, and walked towards the door.

"Goodnight, mama."

She turned out the light, turned the doorknob, and walked back into the night. The moonlight shined on Bowser's face for the split second while it was open, and then it was gone. He lay there on his back, in that white bed, in the dark, with that icepack behind his head, and with his eyes open...

* * *

William was in Dr. Kamenstein's laboratory having a look around while everyone else, including his mother, his sister, the stork, and those two creepy babies were enjoying themselves at the dinner table in the kitchen. The two of Wario and Waluigi were in their highchairs, eating their semi-liquid dinners out of their bowls in unison. They were... Spoon-feeding themselves.

Marilyn and Tessa probably should have been eating their machine-induced steaks, but they couldn't help but give these two tykes a good stare.

Storko was in his oversized cage again, pecking at his seeds. Finally, he noticed the women weren't touching their meals. "Is something the matter?" he asked.

"Um, no, uh," stuttered the mother. She let her fork twirl around in midair above her plate nervously. "It's just... Um..."

"How can those babies feed themselves without getting all messy?" Tessa interjected. "I mean, they don't even look that old and..."

"Oh," said Storko. He shifted his feet a little so he'd be facing their direction in his cage. "Well, I'm not sure, myself, actually, but I DO know these boys were created by my master, Dr. Kamenstein, and you know how perfect he likes to make everything."

"So... They're fast bloomers?" said Marilyn, still not being able to get her eyes off the brothers.

"Mm, you could say that," Storko said.

The family continued eating in peace, and William kept looking around the doctor's lab. All kinds of strange things were present. Warped looking glass containers, tubes with little turtle shells floating around in their green liquid, and this one metal thing on the counter that looked as though someone just stuck a big corkscrew into some lead pipes. He couldn't help but notice some blueprints lying around. He walked up to the counter where they lay, and placed his hands down on either side so they'd flatten out.

"Hmm," he said curiously. "Perfect hearing, perfect sight, perfect smelling?" He let his eyes scan the other odd markings of these weird pictures. "What IS this?" He tried looking at it some more, tried allowing his brain more time to analyze the newfound data, but something even more interesting called for his attention... Quite literally.

He bolted his head into an upright position and started turning it this way and that. "??? Who said that?"

In the kitchen, the dinner was going relatively peaceful until Wario put his spoon down, grabbed a handful of his mashed peas with his right hand and used his left to reach across from his high chair over to his brother's and tap him on the shoulder. Waluigi immediately ceased his activity of consumption to turn his head to the right and see what was up. Then SPLAT! Wario heaved the gunk right into his eyes.

Waluigi screeched as his little hands flew up to his face so he could wipe the stuff from his eyes. He then looked at his sibling and growled. Wario was blowing a raspberry at him with his fingers waving at him beside his ears, mockingly. Then Waluigi got his own handful of ammo, and chaos ensued.

This didn't seem to spell good news for the other attendants, unfortunately. "Oh, my," said Marilyn, worriedly, her hands going to her mouth in worry. She was about to get out of her seat, but-

"-Oh, no no, Madame, I've got it," said Storko. He hopped out of his gigantic cage so he could resolve this little foodfight...

_Yes, boy, come here. Come and give your old Annie a hand, hm?_

William was confused. He was wandering around this stranger's laboratory, hearing two different voices at once. One of them was beckoning him forward, and the other was saying, "Now, now, boys, none of that." He was trying to strain his ears for the beckoning one, but it wasn't like he could hear it. It was all in his head. He stood in the middle of the lab between two of these counters still shifting his head left and right looking for the source of the "voice".

"Where are you?" he asked out loud.

_Here... Over here..._

"Where?" He pressed forward, still not too sure of himself.

_The box, dear._

"The box??" he said. His eyes were darting here, there, and everywhere, looking for the smallest shred of a hint for what this voice could possibly be talking about.

_The MUSIC box, dear._

"The MUSIC box??" This was just getting more and more confusing. He practically wasn't thinking anymore at that point, letting himself go where ever his legs would take him.

_On the shelf, dear._

"The SHELF??" he repeated again. Finally, he saw something that seemed to satisfy his needs somewhat. He saw over there, lined up next to where one of the counters ended a big, old, metal shelf. However, this music box the voice was speaking of wasn't the only thing it had in stock. There were toolboxes, piles of wires, bottles of glue, and so on. He advanced towards it.

_Yes, that's it, dear. Come a bit closer..._

His hands were digging through all the cardboard boxes, past all the spray bottles, and he almost knocked over a case of the doctor's test tubes, which would not have ended pleasantly. He STILL couldn't find that music box.

_Dear..._

He stopped sifting. "Yes?"

_It is brown..._

He started to keep his eyes peeled for something brown.

_It has a big question mark on it..._

Didn't he just see something like that a second ago?

_It's on the middle shelf..._

His eyes started scanning once more.

_It's on the right..._

He moved his eyes until...

"WILLIAM!"

He jolted. Reality had come back with a vengeance. His mother was calling. "YEAH, MOM?" he called back.

"IT'S TIME FOR BED, HONEY," she said.

"OKAY, MOM, JUST A SECOND!" He took a look at what the voice was talking about. Indeed, right there, as he was told, was a small, treasure chest-like box with a big, white question mark on the front and a crank sticking out of its side.

_Don't worry about me, boy. Go. Do as she says. We'll meet again..._

William sat there staring at the box for a second. Then he got up, and ran out of the lab, leaving it behind.

* * *

Helga found Gorroh in their personal room like they agreed she would. He was at his desk again writing some of his memoirs.

_"...But then something fell right out of the sky and plopped onto his head. It was a brick... A brick with a note attached!"_

"Hmm..." Gorroh munched away some more at the top of his pen. He was at another loss. His mood brightened, though, as soon as his lovely wife stepped into the picture. She walked into the room, closed the door, and his attention was stolen. He looked up from his work so he could greet her once more. "Hello, Helga. How's our son doing?"

"Oh, he's just as feisty as ever. I just told him a bedtime story," she summarized as she sauntered over to sit down on the edge of their bed.

"Ah. Which one?" he inquired.

"The one about the Super-Happy Tree."

"Ah. THAT one." He nodded his head, remembering it perfectly well. "Did he enjoy it?"

"I think he did," she said, looking around at her surroundings. There was a lamp here, a table of liquor there, a painting in the other direction, and of course her husband. "So how are the memoirs coming along?"

"They're going alright. Although, I'm afraid I may have writer's block again." He turned to look at his work for a second there.

"Where are you now?" she asked, leaning forward from her seat on the bed.

"Well, I've just come back from telling you about the villainess's hideout, and now I've been hit on the head with a brick with a note attached to it."

"Hmm. Who's the brick from?"

"I don't know. Is it the Goomba? The Terra Pin? The Magikoopa?"

"Definitely the Magikooopa," she suggested.

"Ah, yes. YES!" With an exciting left finger wagging in the air, he returned to his work and started scribbling some more. "Perfect!" He put his pen down and turned to her again. "You are excellent at lying, Helga, my dear, you really are!"

"I know." She gave him a big, toothy grin. They got up out of their seats, walked to eachother, embraced, and starting smooching again. A few seconds afterwards, they pulled away, but still stood, holding hands.

"Speaking of Magikoopas, dear, Kamek was just telling me something earlier today."

"Yes?" She tilted her head in curiosity.

"Well, he said he just had another one of his visions. He said we'll probably have to take care of a few apes in addition to a few babies."

"Hmm... Now why would he have a premonition like that?"

"I don't know, dear, but I don't question his visions."

"I guess not..." They massaged one another in eachother's arms for a little while longer. While resting her chin on his right shoulder, she asked him, "So... How much longer now?"

He grinned. "Probably not long..."

He didn't know how right he was. As the ship was drifting harmlessly across the sea, beneath the full moon's light, they were drawing even closer to their destination. It was coming up on the horizon. A lone island was slowly creeping into view; one covered in trees: The Clattagin Woods...


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**  
The Isle Delfino-bound Yo'sters were each in their quarters, snoozing peacefully away. In one room, Yazzee got to have one bed while Boshi got to have the other. But for some reason, the other room was completey empty. Two Yo'sters weren't present.

Xoshi stood mopily by the ship's railing with his head drooped down, resting on his folded arms, leaning against it. He was gazing at what was almost his reflection in the water. His face was constantly warping itself as the ship sailed on, disrupting the waviness of the sea even further. He elicited a low-spirited sigh.

_Man, this sucks,_ he thought to the Star Warrior in his head. _I'm a million miles from home, some burglars are surely robbing the dickens out of it, and here I am being dragged off to some island where there's surely more creepy guys like the ones taking us there. Also, I thought I saw two big, fat rats running around earlier. What in the world is going on?!_

_I'm quite sure your house is safe from burglars at the moment, Xoshi,_ was what he got as a response.

_Yeah... If you say so, Beel..._

In a vain attempt at relieving himself somewhat of the fatigue that was weighing him down, Xoshi looked up from his arms, shook his head with his eyes clenched shut, then opened them up so he could have a good look at the full moon that night...

Meanwhile, the ever so mischievous Sackle and Crookie were busy fixing up something devious down in the hold of the ship. There, they hid, behind some of those stacked crates. Noone seemed to be at that maze of wooden boxes besides them, so finally Sackle poked his head out to have a look around. Noone at 9:00, noone at 3:00... The coast was clear.

"Alright, Crookie, we're all set. Let's move out!" he hissed to his apprentice.

"Oh, goodie!" Crookie said excitedly. The two of them hopped out from behind the crates and landed right in front of them in defiant stances, simultaneously, in a very dramatic manner.

"Now let's go looking for that switch!" Sackle said.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, a little man on some type of hover bike was speeding towards that very boat, causing curtains of white water to go flying in its wake.

"Hmmm..." he hummed in his quirky voice as he looked at the blinking yellow light on a little device he held in the palm of his hand. "They can't be too far away now..."

With that in mind, he continued skimming the surface of the water on his bike, making the distance between him and the boat a little shorter each passing second...

* * *

The storage room was not in the same condition it was in before Sackle and Crookie's little expedition. What originally formed neat stacks of various wooden crates, each of them with all the lines matching eachother in rhythm, was then a bunch of not so neatly arranged stacks, complete with boxes coming out at crooked angles pointing in different directions, some of them even being in danger of toppling over. Sackle was sitting down on the floor with the upper half of his small body leaning against one of these unorganized columns. His apprentice was in a similar position a little to the right across from him.

"I can't belive this," Sackle grumbled. "We spent all this time looking for it, and we still haven't found a single clue."

"Yeah," Crookie puffed. "All we found is this worthless blue thing." To show what he was talking about, he somehow whipped out from behind him a large, dome-shaped object that was rimmed with a shiny, yellow metal at the bottom, but the bulk of it was indeed blue. Inside of it was a white exclamation mark that was busy rotating. As soon as he laid eyes upon it, Sackle jolted upright from his seating position, pointed his line of vision towards it, then sent his fists to his face to squeak out any fogginess that could have been causing this illusion. Looking at it again after that, he concluded it was no trick, and his mood brightened.

He jumped back onto his feet and said, "Crookie, you big dope! You found the switch!!"

Crookie was slapped in the face with what he couldn't determine was an insult or a praising. "I- I- I did??" he stammered, still holding the device atop his palm as though it were a pie.

"Of course not, idiot! Now give it here so we can get that Beel doll and out of this place!!"

Crookie handed it over as instructed, or rather he let Sackle snatch it from his fingers as his boss walked over to him. Crookie still had that dumbfounded look on his face. He asked, "Uh, 'Beel,' Boss?"

"Yeah, 'Beel.' It's short for 'Belome.' Got a problem widdat?!" he snapped.

"Um, uh, no, Boss."

Sackle placed the blue dome on the floor before him. He stood square in front of it. "Good. Now down to business. Crookie, jimmy."

"Okay, Boss!" This time, he really did hand it over. The blue-capped leader gladly accepted it.

"Thanks!" He raised it up into the air with both hands. He moved his arms in a circle out of anticipation. "It's show time!..."

Up on the deck, Yoshi had joined Xoshi in his insomnia. He walked up to him while Xoshi still had his head resting on top of his folded arms against the railing.

"Hey, Xoshi. Still not shoving off to bed, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Xoshi mumbled. He let loose another sigh.

Yoshi's eyes scrunched up. "You seem kind of down. 'Something the matter?"

Xoshi lifted himself up. "Ummm..." he hesitated. "Uhhh..." First his right hand scratched his head, then he swept it down across his neck and let it plop down beside his waist. He used the index finger of his left to scratch his nose. His hands stood still a moment, then finally they went up in front of him, both of them pointing, almost as though to show how big something was. His eyes squinted. "What if," he started. "You just had a long day, and I mean a REALLY long day."

"Yes?"

"You come home, you plop down onto your bed, and before you know it, you're asleep. You didn't know you were asleep, until something woke you up from this crazy dream..."

_Xoshi... What are you doing?_

_Just trust me on this one, okay?_

"What if this something just happened to be this... Space alien from the moon, or something, and he told you you had to... Go and find seven people before the world comes to an end? What would you do?"

Yoshi just looked at him. "I would save it."

Xoshi stared back with his jaw hanging open. "But..." Xoshi tried saying. Several different riddles and contradictions were whirling in his head at the moment, but not a single one of them was coming out of his mouth. "But..."

"Hey..." Yoshi mused, looking up. Xoshi stopped  
trying to find words. "Speaking of the moon... Since when is it round?"

"What??" Xoshi blurted. His neck and his eyes swiveled until the moon was in the dead center of the sky. Indeed, it wasn't C-shaped anymore, like it was supposed to be; it was round. "Holy- It IS round!! How could I have missed that? What's going on?!"

"I'LL tell you what's going on..."

The two Yo'sters jerked themselves around and locked faces with the source of this new voice...

BOINK! Sackle struck. The jimmy bounced off the switch's jelly-like surface and the exclamation mark inside suddenly halted. As soon as that happened, the entire ship began to shake...

Yoshi and Xoshi could feel this, too. The one who just spoke to them was the Yoshi captain.

"ACK! What the-" the two of them squealed, but the third person remained calm. As soon as the shaking started, it stopped. The ship didn't seem to have taken any damage in any visible way.

"YOU!!" Xoshi outburst, pointing at the creepy guy. "Tell us what's going on!! Now!!"

He just blinked at him a little. "I will..."

Below, a few of the crates had just fallen to the floor after the incident. However, the slamming noises they made weren't necessary in order to awaken two other Yoshies.

"Oh, for crying out loud!! What now?!" Boshi grumped.

"It's Santa! Quick, Boshi! Let's go to him!..."

Fortunately, the two thieves were unharmed.

"BOSS!!" Crookie flipped after feeling the quake. "What in the world did you just do??"

"ME?! You were the one that was just standing there, Crookie. All I did was hit the-"

"YOU TWO!" They immediately stopped bickering and turned their heads in the direction of the hallway. Jax was standing there with an angry look on his face. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Uh-oh," said Crookie.

"Busted," said Sackle...

Above, the strange Yoshi was busy gazing at the moon. Slowly, he closed his eyes, and started breathing harshly. Innnnnn, ooouuut. Innnnnn, ooouuut. Yoshi and Xoshi just gawked.

"You..." he began. "Didn't win a free trip to Isle Delfino. This was a trap..."

"WHAT?!" Yoshi freaked.

"I KNEW IT!!" Xoshi raged with his fists shaking in the air...

During this, Jax was starting to speed-walk towards his enemies. With drops of cold sweat flinging off his forehead, Crookie was standing there, aggressively turning his head back and forth. Finally...

"GWUGH!!" Sackle had done it again. He was dragging him across the floor with a death-grip on his collar roots. He was headed for the ladder.

"You big dummy!! Move it!!"

"Alright, alright!!" He scrambled back on his feet and started following closely behind his superior. Behind, Jax was picking up the pace.

"Stowaways!! Get back here!!" he shouted, going off into a sprint.

Further back, Yazzee and Boshi had just emerged from their rooms to notice the little man chasing after a big, round, white object ascending the ladder.

"See, Boshi? I told you it was him! He's got the bag, the hat, and everything!" Yazzee was bouncing up and down excitedly.

"Would you shut up about Santa?! Come on, you, something's up," Boshi demanded.

"Okay!" Yazzee said, giving his blue friend a salute. Boshi raised his eyebrow at him. Then they made a break for the ladder...

The Yoshi captain stood breathing heavily some more. Innnnnn, ooouuut. Innnnnn, ooouuut. "We're... Trying to get something," he continued. "Something you wouldn't understand..."

Both Yoshi and Xoshi stood with their fists clenched and a burning jelly squiggling throughout their bones causing them to jitter and sweat at the same time. They stared at him intensely as though hoping they'd be able to incinerate a few steaming holes in him just by doing so.

"In order to get it, we needed a few things..." He started stepping towards them ever so slowly. They never broke their gazes. "A few suckers..." he waved his arm in front of them. He stopped. "The moon..." He pointed to it in its round glory in the sky. "And..."

BAM! Sackle and Crookie burst through the door and onto the deck. Startled, Yoshi and Xoshi tore their eyes off their nemesis for a second just to see the two thieves run past them towards the tip of the ship.

"What the-" Xoshi uttered.

"Come on! Come on!" Sackle urged.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Crookie responded.

BAM! Jax ran onto the deck, and some attention was stolen again. Jax was panting heavily. He was right behind his captain when suddenly the ship started to rock again.

RRRRUUUUMMMMBBBBLLLLLLLL... It was fiercer this time. Yoshi and Xoshi nearly fell to their tails, but Jax, Sackle, and Crookie were definitely the ones that tripped and fell flat on their faces. Still, the freaky Yoshi remained without budging.

When it was over, he continued without interruption. "And..." Yoshi and Xoshi were starting to pant heavily themselves. The other three were trying to pick themselves back up. "Some help..."

Yazzee and Boshi felt the shift as well. "There it goes again!! What gives?!" Boshi growled.

"Look!" Yazzee said. He pointed to the trapdoor in front of them. At that moment, it looked more like a square of blue light shining before their very eyes. The longer they stared at it, the brighter it got.

"Pretty, huh, Boshi?" Yazzee said.

"I got a baaaad feeling about this..." Boshi moaned...

While those two were dealing with problems of their own, the sinister Yoshi couldn't help but notice his subordinate struggling so he extended a hand towards him. Seeing it, Jax grabbed it and soon after was back on his feet.

"Thank you, Sir," he said, but all Yoshi and Xoshi could hear was, "Blah blah blah."

Sackle and Crookie were back in action as well. "Let's get moving!" Sackle demanded.

"Right, B-" That was as far as he got. Something else came up that caused everyone to freeze in their tracks.

...oooooooooOOOOOOOOOooo...oooOOOOOOoooOOOooo...

An eerie groaning. The schematic Yo'ster extended his arm and used it to direct all eyes to the door the other three had just run out of. Yoshi and Xoshi watched in anger and terror, while Jax and his scaled companion watched in patience. Sackle and Crookie just listened. Yazzee and Boshi just stood there.

At first, nothing was happening. Then FWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!! The trapdoor flew off. A swirling mass of various pale colors, each of them glowing and twisting around one another, spiraled out of the trapdoor, up the ladder, out the other door, swam into the air, then scattered into seven individual pieces. Sackle, Crookie, Yoshi, and Xoshi all had their heads spinning. They weren't quite sure what to look at. The mysterious forms seemed to be gone for one second. Finally, they returned. They spread out so they could surround each of the six people on board. At last, they could be seen. This was a group of seven, glowing individuals: A Para Troopa, a lady pirate, a woman in spandex, a female Yoshi, a dame in a green night dress, a Big Boo, and a regular-sized Boo with a blue tongue hanging out of his mouth and a ruby red crown on top of his head.

This odd bunch stood floating in the air facing the other six. The crowned one spoke up in a jagged voice: "Well done, boys," he said in English. The two untrustworthy guys that brought the victims here turned to him and nodded. "So..." he said to the rest of them. "Shall we feast?"

"RUN!!!" Sackle screamed. Yoshi and Xoshi didn't need an interpreter to tell what he just said. All four of them tried turning around and jumping overboard, but there was nothing they could do. In the blink of an eye, it seemed, none of them could do what they wanted to do.

"NO!! What the- Let me go!! Boss, HELP!!" they each said. The female Yoshi had taken a hold of Xoshi, the spandex woman got Yoshi, the pirate woman got Sackle, and the woman in green got Crookie.

All seven of the ghostly figures just chuckled mischievously. Then they started to get down to business. The Yoshish one walked towards Xoshi, Jax towards Yoshi, the crowned one towards Sackle, and the Big Boo one towards Crookie. Each of them were licking their lips hungrily. The Para Troopa was still floating in the air watching.

While struggling, the spirit in Xoshi's head was saying, _Xoshi, my powers..._

_WHAT?! What about your powers?!_

_Use them._

_I don't know how!!_

_Rrg..._

"And now..." said the one in front of Xoshi. "To get that something..."

Then both he and his little partner closed their eyes and started that heavy breathing again...

Innnnnn, ooouuut. Innnnnn, ooouuut...

Underneath the deck, Yazzee and Boshi had been in awe of the spectacle that just took place.

"Wh- Wh- What on Plit was that?!?" Boshi stuttered. The trapdoor they were standing in front of was then open and the square that was glowing earlier was cast aside. Some unusual steam was spiraling up from it.

"The Seven Ghosts of Christmas?" Yazzee suggested.

Boshi tossed his head back, made claws out of his hands, and let them squirm in front of him. He wanted to strangle his yellow friend, but couldn't.

"What?" Yazzee inquired.

"Just... Just shut up. Let's go!" he got out.

"Okay!" Yazzee responded. Finally, the two of them commenced scrambling up the ladder. Once they took their turns making it out of that door and onto the deck, indeed something strange could be seen by them.

"Boshi?" Yazzee asked nervously.

"What's going on?!" Boshi fumed.

Not only did they see that four people (including their friends) were being held in restraint by what appeared to be a quartet of ghost girls, but also that they were being confronted by four other guys, two of which seemed to be growing larger.

All four of the captured ones were too horrified to continue struggling. Jax and the Yoshi captain were performing a very unsettling action in unison. With their eyes closed and their mouths inhaling and exhaling like mad, they were gradually becoming more and more muscular, not to mention hairier and taller. Their hands and feet were replaced by clawed paws, their knees reversed directions, their faces bulged into long snouts with rows of fangs, and long, pointy ears were sprouting on top of their heads. At last, the transformation was complete. Together, they formed two things: A werewolf, and a wereyoshi.

The two of them sent their eyes open. Both Yoshi and Xoshi jolted. Those eyes were glowing yellow.

"Now..." the Wereyoshi growled in a very different voice. "Say goodbye!!!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"OH, NO, YOU DON'T!!!"

Before any of the ghastly villains could get to ridding their victims of any chances they might have had of ever being able to see the light of day again, they had to turn their heads around and see two blurs, one yellow, one blue, plow their ways into the ring.

WHAM! SHWACK! With a groundpound, Boshi had managed to flatten the werewolf in front of Yoshi into a furry pancake, and Yazzee managed to send the wereyoshi sprawling with a blow from his fuzzy dice. Taking advantage of the befuddlement that fell over their captors, Xoshi, Yoshi, Crookie, and Sackle were able to kick, punch, bite, and even stab their ways to freedom. While the remaining seven enemies were busy trying to take in the confusion, the six victims were in the act of forming a ring of their own inside where the fiends previously were.

"There's only one way, out of this, Crookie," Sackle said, drawing eight knives out of nowhere.

"I gotcha, Boss!" said his apprentice, cracking his knuckles and getting into a fighting stance.

"Yazzee! Boshi! Thank goodness!!" Xoshi blurted.

"How did you get him with those things?" Yoshi asked Yazzee.

"Heh heh. Loaded dice!" he said, holding up his odd weapon of choice. They almost seemed to sparkle.

"Enough chat. Let's get 'em!!" Boshi yelled.

"RIGHT!" they each said at the same time.

"So it comes to this..." the crowned boo said. The other ghosts were back on track and were ready to face the trial ahead of them. "ATTAAAAAACCK!!!"

At that, the two sides clashed in a fury of tongues, knives, biting, licking, swooping, swinging, slashing, slapping, and slinging. Xoshi and and the Yoshi ghost flew at eachother, as did Yoshi with the spandex woman, Yazzee with the Big Boo, Boshi with the crowned Boo, Sackle with the pirate, and Crookie with the damsel. The Para Troopa, however, just got out his bow and started firing arrows wherever it seemed appropriate.

Xoshi tried kicking off the bout with his tongue lashing out at the Yoshi girl's neck. However, that ghostly tail of hers was a natural advantage, so it was an attack she was easily able to dodge. Flustered, Xoshi tried again and again to ensnare her with it, but it was no use. As if this wasn't frustrating enough, DOYNG! An arrow had materialized right in front of him. Ticked, but still keeping his head, Xoshi plucked it from the ground and continued the fight...

Yoshi was having similar results. The spandex lady didn't attack much, but still she was as elusive as all get out. It was like trying to punch a snake that would swerve right and left, left and right no matter which fist he used. If only he had something to turn into an egg and fire at her...

The air was rippling in front of Yazzee's face. Whatever this attack was, he didn't want to find out what would happen if he got hit with it. He quickly ducked and let the mysterious force fly overboard and disappear into the night. Then he got up for his retaliation. With his dice whirling like a flail, he charged the foe. Fortunately, the Big Boo wasn't quick enough this time, and so he ended up getting smacked in the face. WHACK! A dark grey mark appeared on the ghoul's cheek. He rubbed it angrily as Yazzee stood a bit away with his lengthy Yoshi tongue flopping around on the deck, his feet dancing, and his hands waving in a taunt. The Boo gathered his wits and sent another ripple cutting through the air towards him...

Boshi was having a jumping contest with himself. He kept leaping into the sky, flipping, and coming down hard with his rear end slamming aggressively onto the ground. His crowned opponent actually seemed to not be having much ease with this. He kept tumbling through the air, grunting foully out of aggravation. Finally, he rolled right beneath the blue Yoshi's line of fire before he came down again. When Boshi was on his feet again, he looked around, but didn't see the enemy. Then WHACK! The Boo socked him hard in the back of the skull. Boshi plummetted to his big nose in anguish. He could hear the ghost cackling with glee. Man, that guy was getting annoying...

CLANG! Sackle had just barely rolled to his right out of the way of the pirate's sword. Irritated, she yanked it out of the ground, raised it up into the air, and prepared for another swing. Sackle was a quick one, though. ZING! He threw one of his knives her way forcing her to cancel her attack and swipe it away to defend herself. ZING! ZING! ZING! He had her furiously batting the things away. Things were looking up for Sackle. But then DOYNG! An arrow nearly plugged itself into his head from above. Sackle looked up and saw that spiteful Para Troopa slinging arrows here and there. He would have done something about it had (CLANG!) he not have had bigger matters at hand. He dodged another blow...

Crookie leapt towards his prey, ready to tear her apart. But FOOMF! Something soft suddenly showed up for him to smack into and bounce back to the deck. The green dame had her parasol ready, so the little thief was in for more than he bargained for. She winked at him, and beckoned him forward with her index finger, pointing upward and making a swimming movement towards her. Crookie twisted his body around with his fists clenched to get himself re-warmed up before he could resort to more drastic measures. At that, he began running towards her, while she began floating towards him, weapon in hand...

Xoshi was just about to unleash a special technique when suddenly the female Yoshi had vanished. Twisting his head this way and that, he couldn't find her. Something pink started rising through the floor behind him and it was too late. She lashed out her tongue, wrapped it around Xoshi's ankle, and he was clawing at the ground in confusion, being dragged somewhere before he even knew what hit him. He yanked his head in the other direction to see that the pink head of his enemy was sticking out of the ground, using her tongue to slide him towards her. Without another moment to lose, Xoshi spat out something blindingly fast at the long, red appendage. He could hear a blood curdling scream. Swiftly, his ankle was freed, and he could stand again. The Yoshi girl was in full form above the ground again, but with her tongue bound to the deck thanks to a piercing arrow. At first, Xoshi felt triumphant seeing her struggle with this new dillemma, but then something swept over him. Wasn't it against his policy to hurt girls? His thinking was interrupted by three more arrows that nearly hit him. His annoyance was interrupted by something slamming into him and pinning him to the ground. He could also feel his air being cut off. The Yoshi girl was back with a vengeance. She had him squirming, complete with her damaged tongue constricting his neck. At this point, he was at a loss...

Arrows kept falling all around Yoshi. It was becoming quite the distraction for his concentration. He looked onward and saw his spandex wearing opponent whip out a staff with what looked like the golden statue of a Boo atop it. She twirled it around, then started soaring towards him. Yoshi got his creative juices pumping speedily, and so before she knew it, she was being pelted in the face by a barrage of eggs, each of them exploding messily and getting all over her and her outfit. The arrows had served him well. This had put her over the edge, though, and so she started firing white fireballs from the mouth of her staff. Now Yoshi was in a severe pickle...

The Big Boo tried once again to send a ripple slicing at his nemesis, but Yazzee was too quick for him. He rolled out of the way again, flipped into the air, and came crashing down on him with his weapon flailing insanely. The Big Boo tried scattering, but that didn't help. WHAM!! Yazzee had him against the ground and was in the middle of mercilessly hacking off bits of his pale face with his loaded dice. The apparition was howling in agony. Yazzee was convinced this match was his. POW!! Something hard slammed him in the face and he went sprawling. He was lying on his back, aching, and seeing double. Two menacing looking figures approached him...

Boshi rubbed the back of his head with a grim look on his face. The kingly specter was still taunting him, tongue waving, and all. Boshi would have proceeded with another attempt at a ground pound, had (DOYNG!) an arrow not have landed beside him. Without wasting a second, he licked it up, squeezed out an egg, readied it, aimed, and fired. The royal ghoul only had time to lift one eye open before (SPLAT!) it got him in the face. Wiping the yolk from his eyes, he could see the blue, shades wearing Yoshi punch the air above him, victoriously. Deciding not to waste anymore time, the enfuriated Boo suddenly shot his fin-like arms out like rubber and placed the Yo'ster's head between them. Boshi suddenly had to turn his head to see what was going on to his left and his right. In front of him, he saw the Boo grinning once more before everything instantly went black. THUD...

Had Sackle the time, he probably would have praised this woman for her skills in combat, but he had knives to throw and blows to dodge. That, and the arrows. With every swipe, she managed to get him to jump back another step. The edge of the boat was getting closer and more likely to send him falling overboard. Looking behind himself and in front of himself to avoid such things didn't lighten his mood. DOYNG! Another arrow came between the two fighters. She hesitated a little, but still she brought her sword up for another swing. When she saw a moody Sackle put his hand up, she seized her attacks for a second. Sackle looked up, closed one eye, readied a knife, swung it in his arm, then at the right time sent it piercing through the sky like a bullet.

The Para Troopa remained in the air, maintaining his factory-like pattern of taking another arrow from his sack, sticking it in his bow, aiming, firing, and repeating. He had the green Yoshi next on his list. Then SHLUCK!!! Suddenly everything was red and his left eye was burning with incomparable rage as though someone had just jammed a flamethrower into it and let the incineration run wild. Losing consciousness, he let his wings stop flapping, and down he fell.

Xoshi was almost to unconsciousness. Everything was getting grey. He was close to throwing in the towel, when suddenly an unidentified projectile dropped from above like a bomb and knocked his female opponent hard on the head instead. The Para Troopa's knocked out, bleeding body plopped aside, and the girl's tongue shot back into her mouth like a roll of measuring tape. She flopped back, too, and slipped into darkness. Xoshi got up and started breathing like crazy, trying desperately to get that feeling in his blood again. Soon, he found himself looking around, noticing that his three friends and his two allies weren't doing so hot. Boshi was down, but the other two were in slightly less trouble. However, they were still in trouble, nonetheless. Similarly, Yazzee was down, but not out, whereas Yoshi was busy dodging white fireballs like his life depended on it (which it pretty much did). But wait; was that the werewolf that had Yazzee pinned to the ground? He concluded that the reinforcements had come. But something was puzzling him. The blue guy was attacking the pirate lady, and the yellow guy was attacking the parasol lady. WHAM!! He didn't get the oppurtunity to contemplate it any further...

With that blasted Para Troopa out of the way, Sackle could finally get on with the battle. He placed a knife between each finger, making his trademark clawed fist out of each hand, and blocked each of the pirate's moves with his vicious slashing. Pretty soon, she was the one about to fall off, but that didn't matter. In an instant, she was up in the air, thanks to her ghostly tail, leaving him looking up in hatred. She made a fist, clenched so hard it not only made her body start to shake, but also to start glowing red. Sackle deduced the bad news this seemed to bode, and in a flash (SHING!!!) she had him arching his back struggling to use all eight knives to prevent the blade from inching any further towards his face. It started to sweat profusely as he felt his entire body start to quiver. He looked around, but couldn't see any sources of help anywhere...

FWOOOSSHHH!! Yoshi's tail had been hit! This woman was better than he thought. Almost instinctively, he voluntarily plopped down to the ground and started flipping himself around in order to douse the flame. Once he got it turned into a steaming pillar and nothing more, a gold Boo was shoved in his face and he was forced to stay put. The spandex woman had a sure grip on that staff and a sly smile on her face. Yoshi gulped...

Crookie charged onward, and the woman in green thrusted her parasol. Crookie saw this one coming, so at the last minute, he uppercutted her weapon and sent it flying. Now she was unarmed, and the burglar was ready to annihilate with his bare hands. He arched his eyebrows at her helpless facial expression, leapt into the air with his fists in position and... THUD. The woman saw that her opponent had just been knocked out by the king. He stretched his limbs back into place, tipped his crown, let her bow her head in thanks, and floated into the sky.

Similarly, the wereyoshi was also back in action and had Xoshi pinned to the ground. With spit gushing onto his face, he heard him snarl, "Nowhere to run now, foolish Yoshi..."

Seeing that all six of the victims were either down or about to be, the crowned one spoke out. "Enough!!" They all cranked their heads toward him. "Playtime's over. Let's give 'em what they want!!!" The ghastly villains cheered and immediately began to switch tactics...

Simultaneously, Xoshi, Yoshi, Yazzee, and Sackle could see that their opponents were starting to breathe in very slowly, but very softly. Boshi and Crookie would have been able to as well were they not out of commission.

_Goodbye, my friends..._

_Oh, fanny-flaps..._

_So this is how it ends..._

Yoshi, Yazzee, and Sackle thought those things morbidly as they could feel their bodies start to get lighter and hear the king's wild laughter. Xoshi, however...

_Goodbye, Jeila..._

_Xoshi..._

_What?!?_

_My powers..._

_I DON'T... Huh?_

Suddenly, the crowned Boo stopped cackling. At the same time, the ghouls also stopped the odd breathing. Something was coming, and it was a doozy...

They could all hear it: A sound like a motor very slowly approaching them. They listened intently...

...vvvvvvvVVVVVVVRRRRROOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

FWWOOOSHHH!! In the blink of an eye, a little man in a white lab coat on a hover bike with something strapped to his back flew into the air, turned to the side, and screeched his vehicle to a hault. He jumped down, and all eyes were on him.

"Peekaboo! I found you!" With that, he pulled some type of tube out of nowhere, switched it on, and let the air start sucking in. The first to get caught in its vortex was the werewolf that was attacking Yazzee. Jax tried pulling even his fur out of the vacuum's web, but it was futile. His feet were lifted off the ground, and his entire body was sent spiraling towards that funnel. Just like that, he was swallowed by this strange little man's strange little device. "Who's next?" he chirped.

"RUN!!!" the king screamed. Once again, Yoshi, Xoshi, Yazzee, and Sackle were on their feet running around like mad. This time, it was even worse since they had a bunch of ghosts swirling around them making things extra confusing. The man was running around too, gradually sucking up one guy after another.

In the process, the man took note of how each of them had their unique ways of screaming. One said, "FOOLISH YOSHIES!! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!" Another said, "SHIVER ME TIMBERS!!" The crowned one said, "NOOO!! WE NEED THOSE SOULS!! WE NEED THEEEMMM!!!" The living ones had other matters to attend to, however.

"Come on, you, let's get outta here," Sackle said, hoisting up his partner and slinging him over his shoulder.

Yoshi was doing the same with an unconscious Boshi. An excited Yoshi and Yazzee were beside him, being urgent.

"Come on!! That guy's gonna kill us!!" Yazzee freaked.

"I know. Let's go!" said Yoshi after putting his blue buddy onto his saddle. Just when they were about to start running like crazy again...

"Ho ho ho. What makes you think I'm going to kill you?"

All three Yo'sters with their knocked-out friend froze. Come to think of it, all that running and screaming had died down significantly. Besides some dust clouds dissipating into the air, it was just the seven of them, including the man with the vacuum who was but a few feet away from them. Upon closer inspection, this was a man with an overtly shiny face thanks to some make-up, a big nose, red bow tie, buck teeth, and a full head of brown hair that was sticking up like a fire. He had put away the tube, which was an extenstion of the device on his back: A red vacuum cleaner.

"Y- You're not gonna kill us?" Yazzee stammered.

"You speak Yoshish??" Xoshi said.

"Heheheh. I speak many languages," he chuckled.

The three guys couldn't stop staring at him. "Are you- Who are you? Why did you save us?" they all asked.

"Now, now, now, one at a time, please, one at a time," the man babbled with his hands waving. The Yoshies shut up. "Okay. You." He pointed to Xoshi.

"Okay. Um, who are you?" he asked.

The man let out a soft laugh. "Why, I am Proffessor Elvin Oya-maa Gadd, but everyone just calls me Prof. E. Gadd. Ho ho ho. I live in the Mushroom Kingdom and am a proffessional apparitionist. In other words: I study ghosts, a field I find quite interesting, I must say. Why, I've been studying them for as long as I can remember. Hee hee. Anyway, enough about me. May I have you kind gentlemen's names, hm?"

After the long explanation, Yoshi could finally get to the introductions. "I'm Yoshi, this is Xoshi, and this is Yazzee," he gestured. "And this-" He pointed to the comatose body on his back. "-Is our friend, Boshi. As you can see, he had a pretty rough time of it while those ghosts were out. It's a good thing you came along. We would have bought it for sure!"

"You're quite welcome, friends," he said. The others nodded. Then they heard a SPLASH. Their heads turned towards the front of the boat where they heard it. "Hm. Looks like some of us got a little shy, huh? That's too bad. I was looking forward to meeting them." He was referring to Sackle who apparently had just voluntarily jumped off the ship with Crookie.

"Aww," Xoshi slouched. "I wanted to thank them for helping us..."

"Don't fret, now. It happens. I'm sure we'll get the chance to meet again someday."

"Okay," Xoshi subtly agreed.

"Now- Yoshi was it?" Yoshi nodded. "Anyway, Yoshi, Sir, I do believe you had a question, yes?"

"Yes, Proffessor. I wanted to know why you saved us."

"Ah, yes. Actually, I was just on a ghost hunt. I was on my hover bike, over there-" He pointed to the vehicle behind him. "When suddenly I started getting a signal from this boat."

"A signal?" Yoshi inquired.

"Yes. This little gadget of mine gives me signals whenever ghosts are nearby." He got a device out of his pocket that had a video screen, a few buttons, and a blinking blue light on top. They got to have a little look at it, and then he put it away. "Anyway, as soon as I got the signal, I headed on over. As you can see, when I got here, I got this little baby going-" He pointed to his vacuum. "And started sucking up the spooky little devils. That's what it's built for, you know. Ho ho ho. To be honest, mainly, I sucked 'em all up for the sake of science. Still, I partially did it because those ghosts are all a bunch of no-good-nicks, and, one way or another, I can't stand seeing 'em pester around some innocent people like you folks."

"Once again, thanks!" Yoshi said.

"No problem, friends. Now... Yazzee... Did you have a question?"

"I sure did!" Yazzee bounced. "Are you sure you're not-" -SHA-BLUB. They all heard one very odd noise, and were pretty confused to say the least. "What was that??" Yazzee said.

"Oh. That was just this old thing, here. It can only hold so many ghosts, you know. Not one of my better models, as you can see." The proffessor was speaking of that vacuum cleaner on his back.

"You made it?" Xoshi asked.

"Ohohoho. I've made lots of things!" the man boasted.

"Out of curiosity," Yoshi started. "How many ghosts exactly can that thing hold?"

SHA-BLUB. "Eight."

Yoshi and Xoshi seemed to suddenly turn pale. "Uhhh..." said Xoshi. "Weren't there... You know... Nine of those guys?"

SHA-BLUB. "Perhaps," said the proffessor.

"Uhhh..." Yoshi hesitated. "What happens if it's got too much in it?"

SHA-BLUB. "It explodes."

"Uhhh..." Xoshi panicked. "What... Should we do then?"

SHA-BLUB. "Leave it here and head for the hills, I guess."

"Okay, let's do that," Yoshi suggested, drops of sweat flying off his scalp.

The professor was unstrapping his backpack-like machine, when suddenly he had to be interrupted. "WAIT!" Yazzee blurted. The proffessor looked at him while the other two started to shuffle their feet nervously. "You still didn't answer my question!"

By now, Gadd had the device set down and had taken a step away from it. SHA-BLUB, it jolted. "Alright, but make it quick," he stated.

"Are you sure you're not Santa Claus?"

THUD. Yoshi and Xoshi had fallen flat on their faces once again. The force of this caused a certain blue individual to suddenly awaken and jump off of the green Yo'ster's back. All eyes turned to him once he started jerking himself here and there with his fists up.

"ALRIGHT, NOW YOU'VE ASKED FOR IT!! WHO WANTS SOME?!" All he got for a response was some awkward gawking. "HEY!!" He looked at them. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?! WHERE'D ALL THOSE FREAKS GO?! WHO ARE YOU?!" He stepped in front of E. Gadd and pointed to him.

"No time to explain! We gotta get out of here... Fast!" Yoshi rushed.

"Say, wha?" Boshi uttered. The others were practically dancing out of pure nervousness, save for Yazzee, maybe.

"Well?" he asked the ghost scientist. "Are you?"

"Is he what?" Boshi asked.

"RRRG!!" Yoshi fumed. "Look: We have to-"

-Shaaaaaaaaaaa...

They all froze.

"What's that thing?" Boshi pointed.

"NEVERMIND!! RU-"

-BBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

Yoshi's sentence was cut off and everyone's screaming was cut on. The boat was demolished by a gigantic flower of exploding fire, which rocketed 14 different figures far, far, far up into the sky. The higher they went, the further they spread out. The further they spread out, the quieter their screams sounded to probably two people that somehow managed to escape such a disaster way ahead of time.

"AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUgggggggghhhhhhh..."

At that point, they could no longer be seen or heard. Still, the swimming continued.

"Heh heh heh," chortled Sackle. "Looks like those punks got what was coming to them, eh, Crookie?"

His companion was on his back, and therefore couldn't say much besides, "Uhhh..."

"Heh heh... Hoyyyy..." As the criminal swam onward, he couldn't help but shake one thing from his mind: "Man... I really hope Beel survived that..."

Nevertheless, he continued his arduous task. All the while coming ever so much closer to the only bit of land in sight: Isle Delfino...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**  
While a snake of glowing green ooze was swimming and twisting its way about high above Lava Lava Island, things were going on inside its famous gigantic tree.

"Well, well, well, brother. We meet again..."

Fyooshi and Raphael at last were before the man they were looking for. He looked just like the Yoshi's big bird of a handy companion, only he was significantly smaller in size as Ravens generally are supposed to be. He was resting in a suitably-sized nest in the middle of the part of the tree they were then on the premises of. The treacherous fowl was between two Yoshies, one black, one white, both of them fanning their master with a pair of long, bristley palm leaves. This was Ren, and something had to be done about him.

"Well," Ren continued, "you certainly have gotten taller, brother. What's the story, hm? Did those Koopas make you eat a little too much of something? Do tell."

"That is not important now," Raphael responded, a serious expression plastered on his mug. "Something else has brought us into your presence..."

"I see..." said the island's ruler. The treacherous bird closed his eyes and nodded slowly. He picked himself up from his last sentence. "So... May I ask you boys what brings you to my humble presence?"

Raphael spoke up. "We have come to undo a few of your misdemeanors, Ren."

Fyooshi was nibbling away at his fingertips with his body jittering while the enemy Raven remained sitting in pure comfort with the fans waving.

"Is that right?" he asked. "And what could I have possibly done to have angered you?"

"For starters," Raphael began. "This poor fellow, here," he motioned towards Fyooshi, still acting nervous, "tells me you've been forcing him and his people to perform various pain-staking tasks for you, such as building statues of you, gathering food for you, entertaining you, and even fanning you!"

The black and the white Yoshies glanced at eachother out of the corners of their eyes and continued fanning.

"So?" the corruptive bird scoffed. Raphael glared. Fyooshi started sweating.

"To 'entertain' you you require them to face eachother in battles to the death, and humiliate themselves before you!"

Fyooshi clenched his eyes shut remembering a time Naji got into a fight with a good friend of his, Blushi. According to Ren's standards, it was a good fight, complete with all the blood and disembodied limbs he could ask for, but it was definitely something he would rather not have done. He also remembered a time Naji had to wear some type of helmet from one half of a coconut on his head and do this chicken dance in front of the tyrant. However, these were but two examples of the kinds of things he would make them do. Come to think of it, where had Naji gone since he last saw him?

"Yeah? So?" the spoiled bird retorted again. Raphael shuffled his way directly in front of his brother. The distance between their eyes was not very spacious in the least. The big one leaned forward while the small one remained still.

"You force them to undergo many a degrading punishments whenever they disobey orders, even for little things, such as chipping one of the statues and staying up past their curfews..."

Fyooshi remembered that fateful night when the three of him, Naji, and Noshi broke the rules a little so they could have a run-in with a gang of space aliens. Double come to think of it, where had Noshi gone?

"Sooo?" the uncaring individual cooed. Raphael squinted his eyes feeling his amount of displeasure rising.

"Ren, I thought I could trust you. We thought we could trust you. You let everyone down. You let Mother down! This is unacceptable," he growled.

"Mother didn't know what she had. I'm putting it to good use. What's the big deal?" Ren shrugged.

Raphael took a step back and squared what probably could have been considered the black thing's shoulders. He maintained his posture. "That's not what power is for, Ren. Just because you're the master of the island, doesn't mean you should act like it. I'm here to take back my position and straighten you out. Now you get out of your seat and get in bed. I'll come up with a suitable punishment for you in due time."

"You know what, I've got a better idea." He hopped out of his sitting position, landed before his previous location and shuffled closer to his sibling. As soon as he did this, the Yoshies ended the fanning and exchanged more weird looks. Fyooshi had his hands clasped over his mouth as though to keep it from spitting something out that could make the situation even less comfortable. Ren stood on his toes and craned his head back to look into his fellow familymember's eyes. Raphael looked down, similarly. "Why don't you go to bed? It's past your bedtime, anyway. The same goes for you, too, Yoshi boy. You're gonna get it, now." Fyooshi's pupils suddenly jolted into a smaller size. He stopped breathing.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!!" Raphael turned red, bulged a vein across his forehead, leaped up into the air, backflipped, and slammed into the ground, harshly. This time, the force of it sent a ripple swimming across the area surrounding him so hard, not only did his black-feathered enemy get knocked down, but all three Yoshies as well. They all yelped in surprise. Once it was over, the four victims of this began struggling to get back to standing. The Yoshies managed this before the fourth guy did. Ren scrambled back up onto his feet shaking his head. He had an angry look on his face. The two brothers continued staring eachother down. Raphael resumed with an equally fierce facial expression. "Ren, you are stepping down, and that's final. Now get out of here, before I really lose my temper. Is that understood?"

"Understood, my eye!! Listen, you: This position is mine, and mine, alone! You are not taking it away from me, and neither is anybody else! You want your precious little island back? You're gonna have to fight me for it, first!!"

The Yo'sters remained perfectly still with little to no signs of any respiratory action. They watched as the two brothers glared at eachother directly in their eyes. Raphael and Ren could feel both their eyes burning twice as hard. They could feel their anger. One could feel his own and his brother's, the other could feel his brother's and his own. They were inhaling and exhaling crazily. This extremely unsettling bout of a staring contest continued until finally Raphael said something.

"Tommorrow at sundown," he growled, "every villager will gather, and you and I will have our fight. Winner becomes the island's new ruler. Clear?"

Ren carried on with his intense staring as his brother did the same. "Clear," he agreed. The three reptiles that witnessed this could suddenly feel heavy boulders of immense heat suddenly form in the pit of their guts. Fyooshi placed one hand over his chest and the other over his mouth. Ren turned around, shuffled back to where he previously sat and returned to the way he was before the conversation. The two birds glared at eachother some more. The black and white Yoshies maintained their stillness.

At last, Raphael turned his head towards his magenta colored companion. "Come on, Fyooshi," he said quietly. Fyooshi brought his hands away from their places, and let them float by his side for a few seconds. Then he placed one in the other like he was holding his own hand. He turned towards the exit like his black savior did. Raphael began to shuffle towards it. Fyooshi took one step, then looked behind him. He saw the tyrant still glaring like a bassilisk. He felt a freezing icecube twist itself up his spine and he turned around to catch up with the tyrant's brother.

As soon as they made it back to where they entered, Raphael turned around to give his sibling one last look. "Be ready."

"I will."

After that exchange between the big one and the little one, the two visitors could finally leave. Ren watched them go in spite. He took a moment to speculate about how he was going to show his brother who truly was the "bigger" one.

_I don't care if you're huge, now. I'm Ren. You can't beat me. Noone can..._

Nevertheless, this other feeling of his that something was missing did not seize to hang around him.

"A-hem," he grunted. The black and white Yoshies beside him jolted back to life and began fanning him again. Feeling the rushes of cool air sweep across his body over and over again in that rhythmic pattern did little to rid him of the furious look on his face...

A ways beyond, the two adversaries of the island's master were continuing with another one of their journeys. "Don't worry, Fyooshi," the magenta-colored dinosaur heard. "We'll reach the village soon enough..."

* * *

"So, he's in the third room to the left?"

"Yes, honey. He might still be sleepin', though. I'd leave him be, if I were you."

"Alright! Thanks, lady!"

He made his way up the stairs, down the hallway, and started passing a few of the doors. The first... Second... Third one.

"Nga-HA!" he said happily. He turned the knob, pushed his way in, and took note of the personality of his environment.

The room was pretty silent. All it really had was a closet, a dresser, a table, a chair, and a bed with a nightstand next to it, all of them composed mostly of wood in a rather rustic manner. This didn't necessarily mean that one individual couldn't have a good night's rest in it, though.

"ZZZZzzzz... ZZZZzzzz..." the figure in one of the beds snoozed away. Peacefully, it slept. Then suddenly...

"SNIFIT!!" Oof! "You son-of-a-Goomba!!" Oof! "I can't belive it's you!" Oof! "You! You! You!!!" Oof! Oof! Oof! A similar person was bouncing up and down upon the formerly slumbering one's chest, shouting all the while and hearing some painful grunts at the same time.

"GET OFFA ME, YOU FREAK!!!" Snifit roared as he shoved this unexpected guest off of him with great force. This caused the guest to practically fly off and land with a THUD on the ground. Snifit leapt onto his feet, causing the matress of his foothold to scrunch up and down as a result of the weight and the movement. He turned towards his intruder and let him have it. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF BONUS GAMES IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?! YOU DON'T JUST GO JUMPING UP AND DOWN ON PEOPLE WHILE THEY'RE TRYING TO SLEEP!! ARE YOU CRAZY?! GET OUT!!!"

The person on the floor poked his head up from behind the bed, rubbing his sore noggin. "But Snifit! Don't you remember me? It's me! Shy Guy! We went on that one mission against that one wooden doll thing, remember?"

Snifit started breathing a little easier letting it all come back to him. The laser beams. The giant Koopa Troopa. The cloudy place. Even the wooden doll thing. Everything. All of it including the man who stuck with him throughout the whole ordeal. That man was the white-masked, red-robed weirdo that just attacked him, and he was right in front of him after all this time. He looked at him and changed his tone. "Oh, cripes. Not you," he moaned.

"Snifit! You do remember me! Ah, I'm so happy." He jumped back onto the springy bed and ensnared his old acquaintance in a massive hug of skin-tightening proportions. It wasn't returned, though.

"Yeah, yeah. Good to see you, too, buddy," Snifit mumbled.

After that, Shy Guy stepped back and let a little space to be between him and the other 8-Bit. "So, what do you wanna do, now? Ruin some picnics? Recruit new members? Eat some candy?"

Snifit sighed. "No, I don't want to ruin anyone's picnics, recruit any new members, or eat any candy. Besides: The Shy Gang's days are over, Shy Guy. Face it. We've got new lives, now."

"Oh no, we don't! Sure, the Shy King's gone, and so is Robin Hifit, and that one little guy, too. Heck, maybe the whole crew's gone!" He wrapped his left arm around the Snifit's shoulders. "But there's still you," he pointed to himself, "and me!" then to his fellow ex Shy Gang member.

"Um..."

Shy Guy released his hold of Snifit. "With my slingshot," he said, pulling out that very weapon, "and your... Um... Big nose... We can accomplish anything!!" Shy Guy stuck his arms into the air and waved them.

Snifit lowered his head and squeezed his eyes shut with one of his fin-like arms. "Look, Shy Guy, it's great to see you, and all, but pretty much the only thing I want accomplished right now is me getting some sleep. So if you'll excuse me-"

-DDDDRRRRIIIINNNGGG!!

The alarm clock on the nightstand beside Snifit's bed went off. He slapped his forehead and grumbled something.

Shy Guy started talking again. "Sooo," he dragged on, "you wanna go get some breakfast?"

Snifit rested his face in his hands and started swaying his head from left to right. He looked up from them, and plopped both arms beside his belt. "Sure, why not," he conceded.

"Great!"

* * *

The dining room of the tavern had only a few people in it. One was sitting alone here, another was seating himself at a different table in a solitairy manner, and two others were in front of the counter, enjoying their breakfasts a ways before the mole behind where they were dining, cleaning out a glass, or two. One of these guys had on the traditional suit of samurai armor complete with the vest, the helmet with long bristles of differing colors sticking out of it, and an axe resting across his back. On each hand, he donned a pair of white gloves. His face consisted of a duo of warm eyes, and a big, black beard to go with his long hair sticking out of the back of his headgear. The other one had similar hair, but it was a little thinner. Plus: It was brown, not black, and it wasn't covered by any such attire for the cranium. He had a mustache plastered across his face. In a different fashion, he donned an orange tunic to go with his black shoes and his mostly white outfit. At the moment, both were in the acts of consuming their breakfasts. The bearded one was enjoying a nice plate of toast whereas the mustachioed one was having some fried eggs and sizzling bacon. The bearded one was finishing up a story.

"...And just before I could defeat the diamond thing, I woke up," he was saying.

The mustachioed man swallowed another bite. "Interesting," he mused. He shoved his fork beneath another section of his egg. "You know, last night, I had a similar dream. I dreamed we were on another treasurehunt. This time, we had ourselves in a room with a few others, I think. The room was checkered with tiles of black and red, like a chessboard. As soon as we saw the chest at the end of it, I said to you, 'This is it, Chak! We can finally finish this and put this crazy journey behind us!' I can't remember what you said, but after that, we got to run up to the chest, and open it up. I remember us gasping, but I woke up before we could find out what was inside." He shoved another fragment into his mouth and commenced chewing.

"Ah, well I can see the similarities," said his companion. He munched some more away at his meal. He swallowed, then turned his head back towards him. "Which reminds me: What shall we be doing for our next big mission, hm?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I suppose we should just linger for a while longer until we come up with something." He continued his consumption.

"You're right." Then they both resumed finishing up their delicacies.

To the left of the counter, footsteps could be heard. The mole with the glass looked in that direction for a split second to realize it was two individuals descending the stairs before returning to his glass-cleaning.

"...And then we can go on a train-ride, and all that stuff!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

The hairy men in front of the counter took note of two small red figures coming their way. The one with the white mask was the first to speak, and the one with the black, the second. As soon as they reached the two stools to the right of the man seated next to the one named Chak, they climbed up, sat down, and let the obnoxiousness flow.

"YO, BARTENDER!!" Shy Guy shouted. Snifit placed a hand over his eyes and tilted his head back. The mole wandered over to their presences.

"What can I do for you boys?" he said, still cleaning that drinking implement of his.

"Um, uh, ummm, lemme think..." Shy Guy babbled.

Snifit shook his head. "I'll just have the pancakes," he said.

"I'll have what he's having," said Shy Guy.

"I'll have it to you boys in just a few minutes." The bartender scribbled something down on a notepad, tore off that page of it, and hung it up with the others above a window leading to the room behind him where all the smells were coming from. He struck a dome-shaped bell on that very window, and soon after that, the note was gone. Then he went back to the glass-cleaning.

"Boy, Snifit, I can't wait! It'll be just like old times!" Shy Guy blabbed on.

"I know, I know..." Snifit responded.

Chak turned to his friend. "Say," he started, "You don't suppose these guys could tell us where we could find some more treasure, do you?"

The mustached man shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. Perhaps it's worth a shot..." He swiveled to his right so he could face the 8-Bit beside him. "Excuse me," he uttered.

Shy Guy turned around. "Yeah?" he said.

"My friend was wondering if you knew where we could find some treasure," he asked.

Shy Guy placed his chin in his hand, and the elbow of that hand in his other to represent his contemplation. "Hmm," he hummed. Snifit just waited patiently behind him. "Have you tried Mushroom Maze?" he asked.

"Yes, we have," said Chak.

Shy Guy thought some more. "Have you tried... The Forest Way?"

"Yes, that, too," Chak replied.

"HMM..." Shy Guy thought some more about it. "What about Koopa's Pass?"

"That, too, I'm afraid," he said.

Shy Guy gave his noggin a good scratch. Then he gave his shoulders a good shrug. "Wellp, I guess I can't help you then. Sorry!"

Chak sighed. He just said, "Thank you anyway." Then the two of him and the mustached man could return to dining.

Shy Guy returned to facing towards the counter before him. "Anyway, Sniffy, as I was saying..."

Snifit looked at him. "Shy Guy, what do you suppose that was all about?"

Shy Guy resumed making eye-contact with his old friend. "Well, I don't know. You know. They're a couple of guys, and they're looking for some adventure! Just like us, don't you think?"

"I guess," Snifit said.

"So, what do you suppose we should do now?" asked Chak.

The person he asked this shrugged his shoulders once again. "The same thing: We wait."

Chak nodded. "Alright."

Shy Guy and Snifit had other things on their minds, though. They waited a while longer, until finally a pair of plates showed up by the window to the backroom that the mole had referred to earlier. The smells it emitted into the air seemed to spell good news for the two red-robed beings. He brought them over to them and placed one on the counter in front of each of them.

"There you go," said the mole.

"Thanks a bunch!" exclaimed Shy Guy. Then the two red guys whipped their forks and knives out of nowhere and went on with the eating. Before going on with the slicing up of the delicacy, Shy Guy had to make note of something. "Hey! These things have squigglies all over 'em!" He was talking about the various S-like shapes in a deeper shade of tan that were going all over his flap-jacks.

"Yup," Snifit agreed. He went on with his meal.

Chak scrunched his eyes up. Something had caught his attention. "Say," he mused, "do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" said his fellow treasurehunter.

"It's coming from the outside. People are hollerin' about something."

The other man was beginning to know what he was talking about. People from outside the vicinity seemed to all be speaking rather loudly about something. Something green, maybe? "They are yelling," he agreed.

Snifit was busy systematically sawing his stack into various geometric segments. His comrade just carved out a piece and shoved it into that hole in his mask he called a mouth. He chewed it a little, then the two other holes that weren't his mouth suddenly widened and he spat the mass out. It went splat against the door leading to the kitchen. All four of Snifit, Chak, his friend, and the mole looked at him as he started clutching at his throat.

"Oh, my God!! What's in this stuff?!" he moaned.

"Worms," Snifit said simply. He took a bite of his own helping, chewed, swallowed, then went for another.

Shy Guy fell backwards and landed on the floor, squirming. The others continued staring, save for Snifit. At one point, he just turned and looked at the idiot, shook his head and continued eating. "Heaven, help me!!" Shy Guy squealed. "I think I'm gonna be sick!!"

"Oh, lighten up," muttered Snifit. "They eat this all the time down here. It's not that bad, actually."

Shy Guy remained writhing on the floor. "Heaven... Help... Me..."

Suddenly, the entire place started shaking. Noone was looking at the man having a fit anymore. They were looking at the ceiling. Not only was dust falling from it, but they could also hear a sound coming from above. It was like a river of mutating gunk twisting and turning around itself as it splashed across the rocks and whatnot, rolling downwards. Little did they know, frantically trying to keep various plates, glasses, and other fragile things from falling over and breaking, that that pretty much was just what it happened to be.

SMMAAASSHHH!! BBLLLOORRRPP! This gigantic snake of ooze made a huge hole in the roof, plummetted downwards, and mayhem ensued. The two other people attending the place suddenly dropped everything and headed for the door. As one of the four people stuck gawking at it, the mole suddenly stopped trying to keep various things from falling and ducked for dear life.

"WHOA!!"

"OH, MY-"

"SHY GUY, LOOK OUT!!"

Chak, the man, and the Snifit were in a panic. Shy Guy was still distracted, rolling on the ground. Snifit suddenly went heroic, stood up on the stool, leapt from it, sent himself tumbling around on the ground, and slamming into the red-garbed one. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain.

"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!" The four people in front of the counter took the hit full on. All of them were simultaneously engulfed in a white light the instant the slime came too close to them. The quartet was too busy falling down, clutching their heads, and moaning to notice the thing had flown up afterwards, and went SMASH right through the ceiling again. More people could be heard outside beholding the spectacle.

"Oh, my gosh!"

"Did you see that??"

"I hope noone got hurt..."

Hoping was what they could only do. Pieces of wood were falling from the ceiling while other things were going on. Crouched down on the floor, the four individuals that got caught in this river of slime's warpath were still covered in light. Upon closer inspection, one could notice the changes they were undergoing. Shy Guy was growing larger, Snifit's shape was morphing, Chak's was mutating, and the other man was shrinking. The groaning sounds they were all emitting couldn't be ignored by the mole. Slowly, he poked his head up from behind the counter, and was horrified. The glow that the four were surrounded by had died down and so had the noise. The four men stayed on the ground at first, still recovering from the ordeal, then one-by-one, they each picked themselves up off of the floor, very slowly. Then they began examining their new forms. Each of them had their eyes extremely wide open and unblinking.

Shy Guy had gotten huge. He was an eight-footer. He was much taller and more muscular. It was like the muck had taken a hold of his head and his feet and pulled until he was all stretched out in this massive form. Somehow, his red robe had changed as well to match his new size. That, and it had become all orange and fuzzy as though it wasn't of the traditional red cloth anymore, but rather that of some type of ferocious beast of the jungle. He was an intimiditating sight. He also seemed to be more humanoid. It was like he was no longer a Shy Guy, but rather a bit of an enormous muscle-man wearing an oversized Shy Guy costume. He couldn't stop flexing his arms, admiring the bulges they made.

Snifit only got slightly bigger. What was noticeable was how his robe went from red to grey. Also, his snout got longer and indeed more strangely-shaped. It almost seemed to resemble some type of rod with a ring of red surrounding it. The long body was blue whereas the ball-resembling tip was all yellow. His mask had gone from being mostly black to being mostly white. That, and the band strapping it against his face was red, not black. The same change occurred to his belt. He only observed himself in confusion.

Chak was in lower spirits. His form had definitely mutated. His skin had become completely black and hard, like nails. His legs had split in two, so he was then walking around on four of them! Also, they each had three toes as his hands, similarly, had three fingers. Like with Shy Guy, their garments had changed as well to fit. As for the rest of him, there wasn't a single hair standing proud in sight. Not even on his once grizzly face. His entire head had been replaced by this black thing with two vicious mandibles sticking out of the front. On top of that, two antannae were coming out of the front of his helmet. At least his eyes got to remain relatively the same. Nontheless, he still wasn't too pleased by this occurance.

As for the fourth one, he, too, had a horrified look. In addition to becoming smaller, his body had also become less defined. His hair looked unchanged, but his facial features had become softer, not to mention completely hairless, not unlike his companion. Like the others, his clothes had also changed to match this about himself. He wasn't liking it, though. He didn't just get smaller; he got younger.

"Whoa-ho," Shy Guy chuckled in a slightly deeper voice, flexing a bicep. "Check it out, Snifit. I'm Arnold Koopanator. WHOA! Look at you!!"

"What in the name of Bonus Games..." he mumbled, still twisting his head around, observing the changes.

"Wh- Wh- Wh-" the once bearded man stammered. His three-fingered hands trembled before his face. "WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?! I'M A MONSTER! A HIDEOUS MONSTER!!"

"I'M A CHILD AGAIN!!" screamed the other one, no longer a man, in a voice that had become higher-pitched and almost woman-like to complement it all.

The transformed 8-Bits exchanged worried glances as these two people started clutching their heads, shaking, and repeating, "What do I do?" and "This can't be happening," over and over and over again.

"Ummm..." Snifit spoke nervously, poking the tips of his fin-like hands together like a pair of index fingers.

Shy Guy looked at him and gave him the thumbs-up. Snifit arched one portion above his left eye like an eyebrow. He watched doubtfully as the huge man waltzed around the hysterical duo, knelt down behind the middle of them both, and began the comforting. His left hand went to the boy's left shoulder, and his right went to the shoulder of his partner's right. He started patting them.

"Hey, hey, hey. Come on, now. Cheer up! I know how to return you guys to normal," he said.

Their moaning finally started to quiet down. Once they got a hold of themselves, they both turned their heads toward his and said at the same time, "You do??"

He gave them another pat. "Yup! I know exactly where to go."

"YOU DO??"

Shy Guy nodded. He removed his hands from their shoulders and stood up. "Not too far from this island, there's another one with this temple on it. I don't know what that green stuff was or where it came from, but I'm pretty sure there's a treasure there rumored to be able to undo these kinds of things. We can take you there! Right Snifit?"

The other transformed one bolted his head up, looked around nervously, and just said, "Um, uh, sure!"

The big Shy Guy held his hand out. "See? It's not so bad. Come on. What do you say?"

The two people he was talking to looked at eachother and whispered a few things.

"What do you think?" the mutated one said.

"What have we got to lose?" the shrunken one said. Then they nodded and turned to their new friend. "We'll do it."

Shy Guy clapped his hands together. "Great! Now before we go, why not introduce ourselves? I'm Shy Guy, and he's Snifit! Pleased to meetcha." He extended a hand down towards them. First the boy shook it, then the mutated one shook it. They turned around to do the same with Snifit.

"I'm Chak. This is my partner, David." He motioned in the direction of the boy. David gave a subtle wave.

Shy Guy rubbed his hands together. "Well, now that we're all acquainted, what say we get this show on the road?" The others nodded in agreement. The mole remained staring...

As this newly-formed quartet of adventurers was just beginning another quest, the slime that did this to them remained swimming through the air, flying towards its next destination...

* * *

Fyooshi and Raphael left the humungous tree and continued walking beneath a sky tinted purple with the rising sun. They headed back in the direction from whence they came. After a while, a thought occurred to Fyooshi's mind, and he had to let it out. He asked the bird, "Raphael?"

"Yes, Fyooshi?" the bird responded.

"Don't you feel bad for Ren?" His hands were flapping around in random gestures as he struggled to get his point across. "I mean, he's your brother, isn't he? Are you really just going to go ahead and kill him?"

Raphael sighed. "I won't kill him, Fyooshi, I'll just show him the price that comes with abusing certain privileges."

"Oh." Fyooshi hung his head as the forest drew closer to them. "Do you feel bad about that?" he asked.

"I cannot lie," said the Raven as the two of them entered the woods and started prowling about the shrubbery. "He is my brother, afterall. I wish there were another way, but there isn't." The pair remained silent for a few seconds, pawing their ways through the vegetation while they were at it. "Besides," he added, "it's what Romona would have done..."

Onward, they continued, feeling the brisk morning dew of the greens scrape against them as they wandered. They were left alone with their thoughts until at last they reached a familiar place, but with a twist. They were in the opening where Fyooshi was eating his dinner earlier, but someone was there, lying unconscious on the ground. He was looking pretty beat up, complete with his very long tongue hanging out like a dead serpent, and bruises all over his body that were slightly deeper in color than the rest of his green body. Was he going to be okay?

"Oh, my..." uttered Raphael, "this looks bad."

"Could it be..." Fyooshi held his hands up to his mouth in shock. "NOSHI?!" At that, he ran up to this passed out individual and started doing what he could. Raphael a moment afterwards began shuffling in the direction of the two Yo'sters to offer some of his services...


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**  
Xoshi had unsightly bruises all over him. He was lying face-down upon tiny little crystals of an immense temperature with his head pointed to one side. In the blackness, he could feel this gritty substance burning beneath him and a huge ray glaring down at him, relentlessly. The heat was unpleasant to him, he was aware of this, yet he was too knocked-out to give a care. It was like he was awake, and yet he wasn't, simultaneously. In addition to this, he could hear murmuring in the background. These voices... He knew they were coming from people, but he didn't know who or what they were saying. Was it anything important? Should he get up and find out? Maybe he should just remain lying there...

"Hey," he suddenly heard. Xoshi didn't respond. "Hey!" the voice said again. Come to think of it, he was also feeling a rubbing sensation against his right shoulder. It was coming from something covered in cloth, probably. He wasn't too sure. "HEY!" Again, the voice spoke to him. Was it telling him to get up?

_Xoshi..._

_Wake up, Xoshi..._

_I don't wanna..._

_Wake up!_

"Wake up!!" Two voices were passing through the Yo'ster's head. Both of them were telling him to-

_-"Wake up," Xoshi. He's telling you to wake up._

_Alright, alright!! Sheesh..._ Finally, Xoshi started to pry his eyelids open. The minute he did so, everything went from being black to being yellow. That, and the rubbing sensation had halted. He blinked a few times to get his eyes to focus, but things still didn'tseem to quite make any sense. As he started twitching his fingers a little, he began trying to get the wheels in his head turning so the world could flip itself right-side-up again.

"Are you alright?" he heard the voice say again.

_He just asked you if you're alright, Xoshi,_ Beel said.

_Okay,_ Xoshi replied, uninterestedly. He slid his hands in front of him, feeling the burning stuff slide with them, placed them down, and pushed himself upward, arching his back in the process. His eyes clenched shut, but were open again and blinking soon enough.

"I say, are you alright?" again, the voice sounded. It was coming from where his shoulder was being rubbed earlier.

_Say, "Yes, I am."_

Xoshi was on his knees. Sure, his back was upright, but his head was still hung, and he wasn't exactly standing at that point. _Say what?!_ he said in response. Those last few words he barely recognized.

_"Yes... I... Am..." Say it._

_Okay..._ At last, Xoshi could start making sense of things. He was in a town with odd-looking, almost block-like structures. The people that were wandering about were all rather short ones with turbans and scarves decorating their heads. The ground was of blazing sand and there was not a single cloud in the sky to not let the sun shine down mercilessly on the place. The person that was showing concern for his safety was to his right, as suspected. He was dressed in all white. His fluffy pants matched his odd, long-sleeved tunic which had some kind of pointy thing going around his shoulders, making them look even sharper. On his hands, he wore a pair of black gloves, which matched the boots his pants were tucked into. The thin line between his pants and his sheet-like shirt was covered by a sash going around his waist, which was also black. Unlike the other people of the town, he was taller, but like them, his head was near-completely covered. The white turban was less exaggerated and had a nice, red jewel on the front. From the bridge of his nose down, his face was covered by another white cloth. His only visible facial features were a pair of dark brown eyes beneath two thick black eyebrows. All that, and he had a curvy sword sheathed by his right hip, as well. This all made him resemble some kind of holy ninja, especially since the sun seemed to be doing a pretty good job of bouncing rays off of his outfit, providing it with kind of a glowing feel. It was a little painful to look at. Xoshi tried the phrase Beel had taught him. "Yesss..." he said, awkwardly. "I... Am..."

The man looked at him. "Can you stand?" he asked.

_He just asked you if you could stand,_ said Beel.

_I can do that,_ said Xoshi.

_Good. Now nod, and stand up._

Xoshi did just that. He nodded to the man, then stood up. For some reason, he felt dizzy. He sent a hand to his forehead, and his feet stumbling about, trying not to fall.

"Do you need some help?" the man asked.

Beel translated his words again. _Say, "Yes," again. I know this man._

_You do??_ Xoshi blurted in his head.

_Yes, I do. Now say, "Yes."_

Xoshi hesitated a bit. He looked at the man, and once again said, "Yes."

The man nodded back. He asked, "Do you need a place to rest?"

Beel translated. _Say, "Yes,"_ he instructed.

Xoshi hesitated. "Yes," he said.

"Alright," said the man in white. "Come with me." He made a gesture with his hand towards him. Beel translated this, told him what to do, and he obeyed. The two headed off through this little town together...

* * *

The landscape seemed to come in stripes of varying colors in the eyes of Dr. Kamenstein. He was flying way up in the bright, morning sky in his very own Sky-Pop, keeping an eye out for the place he had in mind. As soon as he saw a cluster of small figures over there, he put thoughts of witches and green glop aside and put his new observations into words.

"Ah! At last, it comes," he said. "Gana Village, here comes the Madscikoopa..."

He swooped down lower and continued his journey...

* * *

_The day began like any other.__  
__My little daughter and her brother__  
__Were eating breakfast with the ones who gave them life.__  
__Eventually, I finished eating.__  
__I then stood up to start my fleeting.__  
__I bid farewell to my children and my wife._

_With my children and the misses,__  
__We then exchanged our usual kisses.__  
__I was on my way, walking out the corridor.__  
__What I noticed while ambling,__  
__Was the children playing and women rambling.__  
__'Twas just another day walking to the store._

_At last, I arrived before my shop.__  
__But I couldn't enter. I had to stop.__  
__Something was sounding for all to hear.__  
__In the direction over there,__  
__In the middle of the village square,__  
__Was a group of musicians, playing something rather queer._

_To this day, my mind does fail__  
__To remind me what did prevail__  
__In taking me away from that trading post of mine.__  
__Perhaps it was that song of theirs.__  
__When I heard it, I had no cares.__  
__I had to walk to the source of it, so divine._

_Towards that place, more did advance.__  
__The whole town was in a trance.__  
__We had to hear this company play.__  
__On closer inspection, I could see__  
__This band was so dubiously__  
__Composed of harlequins of vast array._

_Five of them were in this choir,__  
__All of them with strange attire.__  
__Their color schemes were all quite wild.__  
__The guitarist's body was like a ball.__  
__The keyboardist's had spikes that covered all.__  
__The singer wore a mask that smiled._

_Another wore a pointy hat.__  
__He had a horn in addition to that,__  
__But none of them were anything compared to their giant.__  
__This giant was half blue, half red.__  
__It seemed the drums were what he lead.__  
__He stood behind the rest, looking so defiant._

_In due time, they had a crowd__  
__Listening to them play aloud__  
__A song about the downside of death.__  
__This song spoke of a frightful abode__  
__Where years of torment never slowed__  
__And not a single soul could draw a single breath._

_People, they could not stop screaming.__  
__They'd be awake, but always dreaming__  
__Of a way to get out of that place alive.__  
__A place of always. A place of never.__  
__A place of flames to burn forever.__  
__This was the ballad of the five._

_Although, their song was quite alarming,__  
__Still, we found them rather charming.__  
__We stayed there and we listened to them play.__  
__We listened to the Jester singing,__  
__We listened to their instruments ringing,__  
__Until disaster came and made us run away._

_Before the song could reach its end,__  
__A mob had come from around the bend.__  
__Chainabel Lee's chomps had gone on a rampage.__  
__Chainabel Lee was considered a witch.__  
__Raising these monsters she said was her niche.__  
__Something had unleashed their bottled rage._

_Men and women, young and old,__  
__Were trying to escape what came to unfold.__  
__But no savior seemed to be within our grasp.__  
__As I ran with the rest of them,__  
__Seeing no easing in the mayhem,__  
__Something worse had come and made me gasp._

_Not only were there chomps about,__  
__But also there were these creatures out.__  
__Creatures with masks and wings and robes and spears.__  
__Then they did something unexpected:__  
__They started making those chomps corrected!__  
__At first they seemed to be the smallest of my fears._

_At the chomps, they started firing__  
__These nets composed of a sort of wiring__  
__Which ensnared the beasts and sent them to the ground.__  
__Foolishly, I did not know__  
__That we, the people, were the next to go.__  
__Pretty soon, they, too, were becoming bound._

_Instinctively, I headed back.__  
__There was someone I didn't want them to attack.__  
__Thoughts of my family were clouding up my mind.__  
__Unfortunately, I didn't make it.__  
__The net around me. I couldn't break it!__  
__Soon, I, too, was taken by their kind._

_Then the darkness surrounded me.__  
__It ate me alive, so mercilessly.__  
__Nothing could be seen, heard, or even dreamed.__  
__For a period of time, this went on.__  
__It haunted me, and then it was gone.__  
__I was awoken by some unforgiving demon, it seemed._

_A little jab, and I awoke.__  
__This was what the jabber spoke:__  
__"Alright, you lazy maggot, get to work!"__  
__I found myself inside a cell.__  
__The touch was horrid, as was the smell.__  
__The jabber was the horn-player with a dirk._

_"Come on, you bonehead, let's move it!__  
__You'll love this job, and I'll prove it!__  
__You're comin' with me," quoth the player.__  
__He took me to the lavatories.__  
__The ones of only ghost stories.__  
__I had to scrub it, layer by layer._

_After short, I did not fail__  
__To find I was in the local jail.__  
__My world had been turned upside-down.__  
__From this place, there was no escaping.__  
__I was doomed to bowing and scraping.__  
__Not even the ones I was with could rid me of my frown._

_For days on end, we have been cleaning,__  
__Washing, brushing, and even preening__  
__For the ones that played such a melody to us.__  
__There are no ups, there are only downs.__  
__We were fools to trust these clowns.__  
__They are beings so foul and incongruous._

_There came a time, I had a talk__  
__With the one who was responsible for the flock__  
__Of the chomps that attacked us on that fateful day.__  
__Chainabel Lee said two thieves were there__  
__Giving her house a search and her chomps a scare.__  
__This was said, and then we were sent away._

_Today, I massaged the large one's feet.__  
__He said this when the task was complete:__  
__"Alright, you slaves, now out of this room."__  
__And so we were poked out by those things with the spears.__  
__We had to leave him with his peers.__  
__Our thoughts consisted of doom and gloom._

_Again, in my cell, I have come to ponder__  
__That thing from which my mind won't wander:__  
__What became of my children and my wife?__  
__Perhaps they escaped without a flaw.__  
__Perhaps they did not need my ravenclaw.__  
__Perhaps they no longer need to worry of life._

_Until these questions turn to answers,__  
__I can only hope these clowns and lancers__  
__Will soon be forced to forever leave our den.__  
__With work and toil not ever slowing,__  
__Only hope can keep me going.__  
__I just want things to return to normal again..._

* * *

Once their slaves were gone, the evil clowns finally got to get their little meeting started. They decided to hold it in that room of theirs with the long table and the chairs. The attendance that day was quite abundant. Thirteen people were present, including Jester, Night Guy, Ba-doyng, Katunk, Har-Harlequin, Taffy Kong, two other people, a quartet of Beezos, and the man, himself, Rudy. All of them were seated, except for the four Beezos that merely hovered behind this unusual duo. Their gigantic leader got the chair at the end of the table.

Rudy, the clown, was a rather ugly man that stood well over ten feet tall. His face, like the rest of his body, was flabby, although it had nothing to cover it up, unfortunately. The big, fat lips, bulbous nose, and warts of his face were out in the open for all to see. He wore a strange, frilly hat on his head and a suit that was half red, half blue covering his massive body. Each side of it was decorated with spots that were shaped like skulls. What was also quite peculiar about this person was that he had no arms or legs. His hands and his feet just seemed to float where they would be if he had any. His hands donned a pair of yellow gloves with spikes coming out of the knuckles. His feet adorned a pair of shoes that curled up at the tips with balls of fuzz sticking out of them. He looked around at the other members of his team.

Jester was a medium-sized man whose face, unlike Rudy's, was hiding behind an oddly-shaped mask. Its eyes and mouth made it look as though it were laughing. The rest of his head was covered by something red that came out in two different appendages where a pair of jingle bells could hang and rattle. He wore a green, frilly thing around his neck that had yellow balls surrounding it. His body was wearing black pajamas, and his hands were wearing abnormally large, white gloves. His shoes were no less comical, complete with their green and yellow color combination. He sat patiently flipping through a deck of cards.

Night Guy wore a long, pointy hat that kind of had a droop to it. It matched the rest of his ridiculous outfit as it was purple with yellow stars all over it. He wore something similar around his neck to what Jester had, except it was all fluffy and white. His gloves were relatively the same, but the oversized shoes were simply brown. He wore a big, grey belt around his waist, and some type of horn hanging from a necklace. His face was round and white, had wide, red lips, and bright eyes with red marks beside them. He was busy fidgeting with a knife.

Ba-doyng was a big, round creature standing on two feet that were long and red, just like his nose. His cheeks were rosy, and his eyes were shiny. He wore an incredibly long pair of pants that went all the way up to his nose. It was striped blue and white.

Katunk was a vaguely similar creature. He had no clothes on. Just spikes covering his metallic body. His feet weren't as long, but they were still red, just like his shnoz. His face bore a mischievous grin and a wide pair of eyes.

The tall Har-Harlequin sat at the table practicing her freaky face with her mouth agape, baring its frightful fangs. Her head was green and bean-shaped. Her nose was little more than a pair of nostril slits lying flat against her face. Her eyes were wide, slanted, and pink. She wore a goofy hat atop her cranium that wasn't too far off from resembling what Jester had. Two bells dangled from two long extensions of the garment. One half was pink, and the other was purple. Both had spots all over them. Her neck had the same garment of Night Guy, but was light purple. Her sleeves were fluffy and, like her billowing dress, they complemented the colors of her headgear. Her sleeves were connected to her dress by these long sheets that looked like bat wings whenever she spread her arms.

Taffy Kong was this orangutan in a polka-dotted vest that was half yellow, half white. He had a red, rubber clown nose, a pointy hat, and yet another one of those strange garments for his neck. He was busy helping himself to a banana.

This pair that was also in the room at the time consisted of two 8-Bits. One of them was a red Shy Guy with a blue star-shaped thing rimmed with gold surrounding that area between his stubby shoulders and his white mask. Both his hood and his curly, purple shoes were tipped with balls of fuzz. Half of his body below the star was purple, and the other, red. A big, white ball of fuzz centered it. The one next to him was a Snifit wearing some pretty similar clothes. It seemed the only difference was his gas-mask-like face.

Hovering behind them were four Beezos also dressed like the other two. All four of them had their spears shouldered as though waiting for their next command.

At last, Rudy spoke up. "Alright, boys, let's start this meeting," he said in that high-pitched, scratchy voice of his. "It's been three days since we made this town our own, but still we have had no luck in finding what we seek."

"Yes, but at least we got tons of money," said the orangutan in his overtly deep voice. He put his banana down, pulled out a big bag of coins and rattled it with a grin.

"Plus: We've got a comfy new home and a million servants!" said the 8-Bit with the white mask. His voice was raspy. SMACK! The two of him and his cohort gave eachother a high-five.

"Yes, Groove Guy and Groovum, the two of you and your Beezos were very successful in taking care of those chomps. We applaud you for that." The rest of the people in the room (not including the Beezos) gave the duo a round of applause.

"Ah, we were just correcting a few mistakes is all," said the one named Groovum in an ugly, pinched voice.

The clapping came to a stop, and Rudy started talking again. "Yes, making you two a part of the crew I feel was the best thing I've ever done. Now we really are Rudy and the Eight Goofalings." The others mumbled and nodded in agreement. Rudy cleared his throat. "However, we still need that music box. The money's no good unless we have that music box."

Taffy Kong grunted, put away his bag of loot, and got back to work on his banana.

"At this rate, we'll never get to revive our mistress," Jester moped in his handsome voice.

"That Chainabel Lee would make a good mistress. Heh heh," Taffy chuckled.

Har-Harlequin cocked an eyebrow at him. "This is like that war against the Shy Gang all over again. What are we going to do now?" she said in her ugly voice.

Groove Guy and Groovum were muttering things to eachother as were Ba-doyng and Katunk. Night Guy just continued fidgeting. Rudy got their attention again. "Well, everyone, enticing a whole town with our music and getting for ourselves a nice, new hideout in the process was great and all, but Har-Harlequin has a point. We need to find out what to do next."

The others made humming sounds and various thinking gestures. Groove Guy and Groovum muttered some more, then nodded. The two of them jumped up onto the table at once and all eyes were on them.

"Me and Groovum came up with this one back when we were members of the Shy Gang, but noone wanted to do it!" said Groove Guy.

Groovum pulled out a map, bent down, and pressed it flat against the table's surface. Everyone else crowded around. "As you can see, we are here," he said, pointing somewhere where the words, "Sarasa Land", were not too far off. "We need to go..." He swept his fin-like hand across the words, "Lava Lava Island", "Yoshi's Island", and "Isle Delfino" until it stopped somewhere nearby where it said "Koopa Kingdom". "...Here," he continued. "The Clattagin Woods! We heard some kind of music box has something to do with that place."

Groove Guy continued for him. "We remember what you said about that one place with all the Marios. If that didn't work, this will! It might be a little dangerous like the Shy Gang said, but we can handle it, right?"

The others looked at eachother and shared a few comments.

"It could work," said Night Guy.

Rudy nodded, thinking very much the same thing. "Good, good. Just one more thing: Groove Guy, Groovum, do you think you two could leave a few of your Beezos behind to guard this place? It belongs to us, afterall."

"Oh ho, no problem, Mr. Rudy, Sir!" said Groove Guy.

"That's what we're here for!" said Groovum.

Rudy clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "Then it's settled! Our next destination shall be... The Clattagin Woods!"

"YEAH!!" they shouted at once.

"Now, boys, I think we all know what time it is now that we have a new plan to honor..." Rudy said, placing his hands behind him. The others nodded, grinned, and pulled out their instruments. Respectively, Rudy pulled his drumsticks out from behind him. He twirled them in his fingers like a pair of propellors, then struck them together making a loud CLACK sound. "TO THE ROOF!!"

"YEAH!!!"

* * *

While the clouds were starting get a little dark, a certain mad scientist was performing an activity of observation in his little Sky-Pop.

Dr. Kamenstein took note of the structures of the buildings as he flew just above the once peaceful Gana Village. The houses all had blue roofs that were a little more steep than what he was used to. The houses themselves were mostly white, and it was as though the pieces of wood that were covering them came in various X and V shapes. A lot of things in the village were pretty wooden for that matter, including the tables, the signs, and the stacks of barrels. He also noticed how one of these buildings had the shape of a Super Mushroom whirling around just above its door, but no customers or any shop-owners seemed to be going in or out. In fact: There wasn't any of that anywhere. It was like the town was completely deserted. What made him realize even further that this was the right place was the fact that there were these odd-looking Beezos buzzing about, as though trying to patrol the place.

"'Evil Clowns', indeed," he grumbled to himself. "What are they up to this time?"

Suddenly, one of them stopped floating around aimlessly, and turned towards him. Its spear was pointed right at him.

"Oh, getting frisky now, are we? We'll see about that..." The doctor hovered a finger over a certain button on his control panel. The Beezo made its spear jolt suddenly and something burst from its tip. At once, a spider web with weights suspending it appeared out of nowhere and nearly engulfed the man! Thinking quickly, he maneuvered the vehicle so it could dive beneath the thing and let it sail behind him, pointlessly. The Beezo looked pissed. "You'll have to do better than that, little one," the Madscikoopa chuckled. He aimed, hit the button, and FWOOSH! The Beezo instantly became no longer a thing of red and purple, but rather blue and white. It sparkled in midair with wisps of steam spilling off of it for a few seconds, and then it plummetted to the ground. Dr. Kamenstein peered over the edge to watch the rest of the results. KISHHH! The statue he had just made shattered into a million pieces as it hit the ground. "Kamenstein: One, Evil Clowns: Zero," he gloated. "It looks as though my Blifit Bills are a complete success." Then he noticed that about ten or more Beezos were wanting to pick a fight with him as well. "So, you guys want some, too, eh? I say, come and get it." They all tried firing more of their nets at him, but it didn't work. His diving techniques were too quick for them. "You're still not impressing me," the scientist said, half taunting, half scolding. Seeing their opponent had moved once again, they each turned their heads and readied their spears. FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH! Three strokes later, and the whole lot of them had been transformed into figures of ice just as their comrade had been a few seconds ago. KISHHHH!!! The shattering sound that resulted was even more abundant than before. "You're all wasting my time," he said. He continued flying over the village's rooftops.

As his search for the real prize dragged on, he started noticing something else. Something that consisted of an electric guitar, a keyboard, some type of horn, a few voices, and a set of drums. Something that sounded very familiar to him, and sounded as though it was coming from that direction, over there.

"Playing some more of your evil music, are you?" the vengeful man said to himself. "Well, it's not going to work this time..."

As he shifted where he was headed slightly, he began to hear something else as well. This was the sound of a horde of insect-like wings buzzing right behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that those blasted Beezos still were not through with him. This time, they brought the whole family.

"Alright, pests, you asked for it..." He turned around and let the battle begin...

* * *

Jooooooo, joo joo JOO joo joooooo; Jooooooo, joo joo JOO jooooooo. Jooooooo, joo joo JOO joo joooooo; Jooooooo, joo joo JOO jooooooo...

Rudy and the Eight Goofalings were on the roof of the prison, rocking out hard. The Clown Copter was just behind them and they were each cranking out their musical talents in their own ways. The combination between those instruments, those notes, and those 8-Bits wailing into a pair of microphones kind of made it sound as though their music was actually screams of anguish. Taffy Kong and Har-Harlequin were dancing to the music. Jester was growling something quickly, but rhythmically into his mike...

_Daddy will not come for you.__  
__Daddy has forsaken you.__  
__Daddy will not comfort you.__  
__Daddy has forgotten you.__  
__Daddy will not come for you.__  
__Daddy has forsaken you.__  
__Daddy will not comfort you.__  
__Daddy has forgotten... YOU!!!_

Jester screamed out that last part and the rest of the band started playing a more creative part of the song. Jester started singing in his lovely voice.

_Welcome to my world. Yeah.__  
__Where there is no light.__  
__Welcome to where there is no hope.__  
__To where there is eternal night._

_I own you now.__  
__Don't ask me how.__  
__I will torture you__  
__And puncture you.__  
__This is your new reality.__  
__You'll burn down here.__  
__You'll break down here.__  
__You'll suffocate__  
__With angst and hate.__  
__Won't you just love eternity?_

Ba-doyng played something crazy with his guitar. Jester and the 8-Bits did the rest...

_Don't you get it?__  
__You are dead!__  
__Don't you remember?__  
__They chopped off your head!__  
__Nothing will come and save you now.__  
__You belong to me!__  
__Your hide is mine!__  
__You'll scream for help!__  
__You'll cook like swine!__  
__Tormenting you forever is our vow._

Then the band started playing something not unlike what they did to kick off the song. Jester did his part once more...

_Here we have the needle room.__  
__Don't you just love sleeping in spikes?__  
__Here we have the nightmare tomb.__  
__We have all your greatest dislikes!_

_You're the property__  
__Of me, you see.__  
__I will scrape your face__  
__Right off its place.__  
__You will cry and bleed forever.__  
__Now, don't you fear.__  
__You'll love it here.__  
__You'll love my jaws.__  
__You'll love my claws.__  
__Ceasing is what we don't do ever._

Ba-doyng's guitar went off again...

_Don't you get it?__  
__You are dead!__  
__Don't you remember?__  
__They chopped off your head!__  
__Nothing will come and save you now.__  
__You belong to me!__  
__Your hide is mine!__  
__You'll scream for help!__  
__You'll cook like swine!__  
__Tormenting you forever is our vow._

The band played crazily for a few more seconds. Their tune escalated until it reached a SHOOOM. It suddenly dropped, and they started playing softer and weirder. This time, it sounded more like ghosts swimming in muck. Jester was growling again...

_So, you want a way out, do you?__  
__So, you want to see daylight, do you?__  
__So, you want a nightlight, do you?__  
__So, you want your teddy, do you?__  
__So, you want it to end, do you?__  
__So, you don't want this anymore, do you?__  
__So, you've had enough, have you?__  
__Well, I say to you... HA!!!_

The band's song was back with its original vigor. They played powerfully some more, and then the singers went on with their main part again...

_Don't you get it?__  
__You are dead!__  
__Don't you remember?__  
__They chopped off your head!__  
__Nothing will come and save you now.__  
__You belong to me!__  
__Your hide is mine!__  
__You'll scream for help!__  
__You'll cook like swine!__  
__Tormenting you forever is our vow._

_Don't you get it?__  
__You are dead!__  
__Don't you remember?__  
__They chopped off your head!__  
__Nothing will come and save you now.__  
__You belong to me!__  
__Your hide is mine!__  
__You'll scream for help!__  
__You'll cook like swine!__  
__Tormenting you forever is our vow._

Then the clowns dragged out another instrumental portion of the piece. It almost had this majestic feel to it. Finally, another SHOOOM occurred, but this time it was just Jester letting his great voice echo through the microphone.

_There will never be another dawn..._

He let the melancholy verse reverberate through the air...

_Your freedom is completely gone..._

Then he went for the big finish...

_You will burn... In..._

The others had their hands posed, ready to let their instruments ring out the finale of the song. They all waited on Jester, but then...

FWOOSH! The Evil Clown suddenly became a statue of ice, clutching at a microphone, looking ready to pour its heart out. They all gasped in horror and confusion. Then CRACK! BOOOMM!! It started to pour. They turned their heads to the right and saw something coming right at them with lightning, thunder, rain, nets, statues of ice, and fleeing Beezos right behind it. CRACK! BOOOMM!! Another flash of lightning erupted and they could see the rain dripping off of its glasses and its lab-coat. They could see droplets of water being flung off of a set of whirling blades. KI-KI-KISHHHH!!! Shattering sounds were heard beneath him.

"What the-" said Taffy Kong.

"Rudy!!! We've got company!!!" shrieked Har-Harlequin.

"Oh, lord. Not this again," grumbled Rudy, sliding his fingers down his face. He watched intently as the doctor went swooping around them some more as though trying to circle them.

"It's payback time," growled the Madscikoopa.

Rudy could see he was drawing closer, surely to deal another blow. "Alright, everyone," Rudy said. Night Guy readied his horn. Ba-doyng and Katunk took on fighting stances. Har-Harlequin cracked her knuckles. Taffy Kong pulled out a barrel. Groove Guy and Groovum started jogging in place. Jester remained frozen. Rudy let out the command. "ATTAAAAAACCK!!!"

It was on. Night Guy started tooting his horn, using it to make knives with black handles shaped like musical-notes materialize out of nowhere, and hurling them at the doctor. Ba-doyng started hopping around on top of the building's roof. Katunk started walking forward, making the place shake with each step he took. Har-Harlequin thrust her palms out and used them to fire flaming hoops at their enemy. Taffy Kong was flinging barrels at him. As for Groove Guy and Groovum, they suddenly did this little, quickly-paced dance in synchronization. Shortly afterwards, a swarm of their Beezos flew up from behind the building and joined this frenzy on the roof. Adding to the situation, they very fittingly started firing their nets at the opponent.

Up, down, down, up, sideways, this way, that way, the other way, etc. All of it was necessary if Dr. Kamenstein wanted to avoid getting stabbed, barreled, or caught in a web. It didn't do much to avoid getting wet, though. CRACK! BOOOMM!!

"Ugh!!" The sudden light and sound was a little distracting. FOOOM! He tilted the device ever so slightly. That was close. A smoking ring of blazing fury nearly singed off the left side of his head. He had to retaliate and fast. WHUMP!! The Anal Retentive man was nearly thrown right out of his seat. "What in-" he started. He looked over his right shoulder to see some big, round, goofy-looking thing was hopping around and some spiky thing was clunking around. Most definitely, it was that round guy that hit him earlier. He had to be more careful. FOOOMM!! Another fire hoop almost got him. He had to be a lot more careful.

Dr. Kamenstein turned and started coming right towards them. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Three whirling knives came close to landing some type of unpleasant wound upon his yellow face. He quickly decided this purple guy with stars all over him was the next to go. Getting into a good position to fire away at such a person was another task, though. Here, there, and in the other direction, more and more nets were trying to grab a hold of him. However, a few skilled maneuvers later, and he was in the clear.

Ha-WOOONKK!! By blowing on his horn once more, Night Guy was once again ready for another- FWOOSH! Too late. Night Guy had suffered a fate similar to that of Jester. He became a frozen statue ready to throw another knife. Another small victory belonged to the man in the lab-coat. He quickly pulled up to avoid another web.

Come to think of it, those Beezos were starting to get annoying, too. He decided they were next. He turned the Sky-Pop, and started coming towards the little punks. The doctor suddenly jolted his head to the right. Another barrel went sailing past his left shoulder. Being through with that and with the Beezos within proximity, he let them have it. FW-FW-FWOOSH! Another batch of bothersome Beezos had been brutally beaten. KISSSHHH! A sweet sound. The battle continued. CRASH!! A barrel splattered into a dozen pieces of chipped wood the instant it got the scientist right on the scalp. "UGH!!" he grunted. He accidentally let his device spin a little out of control. WHUMP! That round thing got him from the bottom and he was made even more dizzy. FOOM! A miracle was what allowed that next fire hoop to miss him. He finally shook his head, got his wits back together, and went for the next round.

He took a second to make more observations. It was still raining. That orangutan had another barrel ready. The round thing was still hopping about, and the ugly woman had her palms out again. That, and the two 8-Bits, Groove Guy and Groovum, were doing another dance. Another swarm of Beezos appeared out of nowhere. He dodged more barrels, more attacks from below, more fire hoops, and more nets. Before long, he had another set of freezo Beezos made. KISSHH! Still, more were on his list.

To his right, he noticed the sphere-like monster had hopped into the air right next to him. He decided doing that thing in wouldn't hurt, either. Then another barrel went flying at him. He dodged that, and more nets, and he fired another Blifit Bill. FWOOSH! He added a banana-flavored popsicle to his collection. He turned the machine around, fired another at the round one before he let it hit the ground, and FW-KSHHH! It turned into a big globe of ice, plopped to the ground, and one of its legs got broken off. Dr. Kamenstein noticed the battle had just gotten a little easier. Still, more fire hoops were coming his way. Could he take on the woman, too?

Groove Guy and Groovum looked at eachother, nodded, and danced again. For about the third time, a bunch of Beezos had showed up inexplicably. Dr. Kamenstein made his eyebrows scrunch down in displeasure. He wanted to go for the ugly, green one, but more Beezos were pointing their spears at him. He hit the magic button again and made more glittering statues out of the horde. He heard the shattering sound once more, sailed above a big, fat clown's head, and started turning. That fat one was watching him intently. Dr. Kamenstein didn't care.

Turning back around, he noticed the two 8-Bits about to do another dance. "Oh, no you don't," he growled. He fired off another ice thing, and pretty soon he had two more frigid figures to add to his collection. Noticing the woman sending another one of her hoops at him, he fired two more Blifit Bills. The first one immediately turned the hoop into a ring of sparkling blue stuff. The second one headed straight for Har-Harlequin. KISSHH! The frozen doughnut shattered, and Kamenstein smiled. "These things work better than I thought," he mused.

"That no-good- ACK!!" Seeing the strange, light-blue-colored projectile coming towards her, Har-Harlequin dropped to the ground. She could feel it vibrating with Katunk's steps, but that was the least of her worries.

"Oh, LOORRD!!!" Rudy shrieked. He took his eyes off the enemy for a second and sent his floating hands in front of his face. Unfortunately, for him, that didn't help one bit. FWWOOOSHH! The fat one was down for the count, too.

Har-Harlequin heard the airplane fly over her head again and another CRACK! BOOOMM!! She got up off the wet ground, looked behind her, and asked, "Rudy, are you al- ACCKK!! Rudy, not you, too?!?" She was horrified to see that their massive leader had been turned into a massive ice sculpture with its hands before its face. FWOOSH! The subtle vibration she barely felt in her feet had suddenly stopped for good. She turned around and saw that Katunk got frozen, too, and that the plane was coming right for her. It was just, her, the rain, and this mad man.

"Once you're down, I'm through," the doctor said to himself.

"Want some of this, do ya?!" Har-Harlequin growled. She sent her palms out, concentrated, and let it out. Poof! All she succeeded in creating was a little puff of smoke. "No!" she gasped. Dr. Kamenstein was coming closer. She tried it again. Poof! More smoke. "NO!!" she shrieked. Dr. Kamenstein fired. "ACK!!" She saw the missile coming for her again, and she rolled to her side, knocking down Katunk's keyboard in the process. SHING! That and the sound of the doctor's little plane going over her head was what she heard. She got up, slipped, and crashed right back down onto the sopping ground again. "What the-" She noticed all his attack did was make where she could stand a little more slippery. She looked up and saw her nemesis coming at her again. "NO! NOT THIS TIME!!" she screeched.

"Say goodbye," Dr. Kamenstein said. He had the button and his target right where he wanted them.

Har-Harlequin tried extremely hard to get her head on straight in such a dire situation. She focused. With her arms spread out, her teeth gnashing, and her eyes clenched shut, she focused, she focused, and she focused. Dr. Kamenstein was even closer to her. He was ready to hit the button when suddenly-

-WHOOSH! "What in-" the doctor grunted. The statue of Jester was suddenly right in front of him. He had to jerk to his right once more. Upon turning around, he noticed that all eight of the statues, including the one he had just dodged and the other with the missing leg, were floating in the air. He was very confused. This didn't seem to be going in the direction he wanted it to.

Har-Harlequin was breathing heavily. She slowly lifted her eyes open, saw that her spell was working, turned around, headed for the Clown Copter behind Rudy's drum-set, grabbed a hold of its edge, and hurled herself in.

What befuddled the Madscikoopa even further was how these statues started floating towards one spot. Even the instruments were doing this. All 13 of the ice sculptures of Jester, Night Guy, Taffy Kong, Ba-Doyng, Groove Guy, Groovum, Rudy, and Katunk, along with their instruments, the keyboard, the electric guitar, the drum-set, and the two microphones of the two new members, went floating into the Clown Copter with the woman. Kamenstein had no idea how such a collection of clowns could fit in so small a contraption. Soon after that, its propellor started going, and the device was beginning to hover. He tried firing another one of the Blifit Bills at it, but it was starting to pick up the pace. SHING! He made another portion of the roof icy. In seconds, the Clown Copter was floating away from the building, into the rainy sky. He fired again and again, but neither time did he hit it. He wasn't too sure what he hit that time. The rain against his spectacles was kind of making it hard to see. While maintaining his control of his flying machine, he rubbed the fingers of his right hand across his glasses, and everything was clear again. The Evil Clowns were gone.

"Go ahead," he grumbled. "Run away. Don't ever come back..."

At last, he lowered his altitude, skidded his Sky-Pop to a stop on the roof, turned the thing off, and got out. He headed for that one miniature building on the roof of the building, itself, with the door in it. He turned the knob and let himself in. Finally, he was out of that cold rain.

"Now, let's get to the bottom of this," he said. He started descending the staircase...

Meanwhile, thoughts were being spoken aloud somewhere inside of a certain Clown Copter trying to flee Gana Village for good. These thoughts weren't necessarily the cheeriest. "Thank goodness for backup spells. Looks like we'll be in Clattagin Woods sooner than we thought..."

* * *

"You can rest here for the time being," said the man in white. Beel translated this to Xoshi, and he nodded. The three of them were in the room of the Toad House of this desert town with the Toad himself. He was just standing off to the side while Xoshi was sitting down on the bed with the man beside him. Xoshi was still finding this place unbearably hot. The man, of course, seemed to be just fine with the heat. "Take care of yourself," he said, bowing his head. "I must be off..." He turned to head out the door.

_Stop him,_ Beel instructed.

"Wait!" Xoshi called out.

The man halted. He turned around and asked, "What is it?"

Xoshi thought about what to say with a little help from Beel. "You're... 'White Rose'... Right?" he struggled to say.

The man nodded. "Yes, that is what they call me. What do you need of me?" he asked.

Xoshi thought some more. "The wandering knight... Right?" he said.

"Yes, that's correct," the man responded.

_Introduce yourself,_ Beel said.

Xoshi pointed to himself. "Me Xoshi."

_UGH._ Beel grunted.

_What?_ Xoshi thought back.

_Nothing... Just say what you need to say._

_Okay._

Xoshi commenced trying to carry out these orders as well. He said, "Xoshi need your help," he said, awkwardly.

"Yes, what is it?" said the man. The Toad didn't seem to be the least bit interested in this conversation.

"Xoshi need you..." He pointed to him. "To take Xoshi to... Shooting Star Summit," he got out.

The man blinked. "Why?"

"You'll see," Xoshi said, a little on the ominous side. The one he asked for help from just stood there and blinked a little more.

_This could be a little tricky,_ Beel warned. _Just ask him if it would be too much trouble._

"It that too much?" Xoshi asked.

The white-garbed one shook his head. "No, it isn't, Sir Xoshi. I'm just not sure what's going on."

Beel gave Xoshi more instructions. "Trust Xoshi," he said. The man still stood there silently. "Please."

The man remained standing. He had his hands resting on his hips. His eyes looked from left to right. He saw the pot in the corner, the trunk right next to it, the variously colored bottles on the shelf above it, and the person that was asking him for his help sitting on the bed there with that pleading look in his eyes. He still wasn't too sure. He looked at the lamp on the table in the other corner, and the Toad, himself. The two of them looked at eachother for a second. The Toad just shrugged. The taller of the two looked at his feet. He remained in this position for a few more seconds. Finally, he looked up. "Alright," he said.

Xoshi nodded, relieved. "Thanks," he said. The standing one nodded back.

_Well, that wasn't too hard,_ Beel commented. _Now we wait until it's time to leave..._

While Xoshi curled back and laid down on the bed, the Toad continued doing not much in particular, and the individual Xoshi had just convinced turned around. He walked to one wall of the place, extended an arm, and put a hand against it. He leaned there with his other hand on his hip. He took this matter into contemplation.

_I'm not sure what this is about,_ White Rose thought to himself. _But I hope it's worth it..._

* * *

_Our food, it did not come that day,__  
__So I sat in my cell, wasting away__  
__Wondering what the problem could be.__  
__I soon found out I was not to fret__  
__And that our troubles, we could soon forget.__  
__A man in a lab-coat came up to me._

_Ever since, it has been known__  
__That our capturers, the clowns, have flown.__  
__The sorrow of us all at last could cease.__  
__Our days of bowing and scraping sank.__  
__We had this scientist to thank.__  
__Gana Village was once again at peace._

_Even then, I had to wonder__  
__Beneath that lightning and that thunder__  
__What came to be of my wife and kin?__  
__Oh, my loved ones, I did miss.__  
__I had to find the answer to this.__  
__I asked our savior with the yellow skin._

_Once we had the time and the place,__  
__We then sat down so we could retrace__  
__The steps we took as the days went by.__  
__It was through him I did find out__  
__That my wife and kin were still about.__  
__I felt a tear of joy come from my eye._

_I thanked this man for this information.__  
__It truly was an accommodation.__  
__I was basking in relief galore.__  
__We then began to talk of things,__  
__But still I had my ponderings.__  
__Soon enough, we'll be family once more..._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**  
Sackle stood at the edge of a grassy cliff, overlooking the colorful city before him. It had everything: A lighthouse, a marketplace, a Grand Pianta statue, a cannon, a good few little islands, and some docks and some boats to top it all off. This was Delfino Plaza, and it seemed the blue-capped thief had just earned for himself a free vacation here without even trying. It seemed those ghost people actually did for him a favor. Well, him and Crookie. Speaking of Crookie...

"Ugh... What happened?" he said groggily, using his own sack of goodies as an improvised pillow. Crookie was lying on his back somewhere at the base of the isle's resident volcanoe, Corona Mt. It let pillars of steam drift slowly into the air while Crookie was busy rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Sackle seemed a little delighted by the sight of this.

"Crookie, you nincompoop, you're awake!" he said upon trotting over to his subordinate.

Crookie was still blinking his eyes at him. "I am? Oh, yeah. I am," he said. He got up off the ground, brushed himself off, and looked Sackle in the eye. "Boss?" Crookie asked. "What happened? Where are we?"

"You got yourself hit on the head during that battle, Crookie, you numbskull. I swam you to safety!" He wrapped his right arm around the young burglar's shoulder. "Take a look around you, Crookie. This is Isle Delfino, where people treat you right."

"Really?" he asked. Sackle removed his arm.

"Of course not, dummy! We're in Muckville. Now start eatin' before you keel over." Sackle pointed to a pile of bananas, coconuts, pineapples, pears, and durians not too far from where his sidekick was just lying down. It was quite a horde. Sackle's sack was right next to it.

"Um, okay, Boss!" He walked over to the collection of produce, sat down in front of it, tore out a banana, and started peeling. Sackle watched for only about a split-second this apprentice of his obeying his orders. Then he went back to observing the island he was on. He saw Ricco Harbor here, Gelato Beach there, Pinna Island off in the distance, etc. He started to hum a tune.

"Hmm hm hm hm hmm hm hm hmm hm hm HM hm..." he went on. He continued this as he continued sightseeing. Crookie was just about done with his banana. He tossed aside the remnants of it and went on with another fruit. He just got started on a big, orange pear when something in him woke up and made him recognize the tune.

"Hey, Boss," he inquired. "Isn't that that one song that that one little guy was singing back on the boat? You know, the one about the birds and the bees?"

Sackle was having a look at a place off in the distance with some kind of hotel. He had his back turned towards the yellow-capped one. "What if I am?" he asked.

Crookie took a bite of his pear. "Oh, nothing," he responded. He chewed and swallowed. "Can you believe those guys were werewolves? Talk about creepy!"

"Yeah, I guess I was pretty surprised, too, but we got 'em, right?" his superior cheered on.

"Righ-toh, Boss!" Crookie took another bite of the pear. Sackle just chuckled.

"I didn't tell you about that one guy with the vacuum, though," he said below his breath, scratching the back of his head.

Crookie had just made a white ring of parts he bit out of surrounding the pear. He thought he heard Sackle say something. "What's that, Boss?"

Sackle shook his head. "Forget about it," he said.

"Hm. Okay, Boss!" Crookie got started on a pineapple, but he didn't know how to eat it. In the middle of trying to figure this out, another issue popped into his head. "Hey, Boss?"

"What now?" he replied.

"What about that one doll we were looking for? The Belome one? Did you get it?" He was slowly picking away at the spiky, papery skin of the pineapple while looking over his shoulder.

Sackle sighed. "Sorry, Crookie, but I didn't. It could be anywhere as far as I'm concerned."

Crookie released his hold of the spiny delicacy. It plopped to the ground and rolled to one side on its own as he got up and looked at his blue-capped leader. "ANYWHERE?! Boss, how are we gonna find it?? Boddle said that doll was an ultra rare, one-of-a-kind work of art and that he was gonna pay us billions for it!!"

Sackle turned around and faced the hysterical guy. "Chill out, Crookie. Maybe that brown guy still has it. Who knows?"

Crookie was still panting up a storm. "But... But... Boss..." He still couldn't get a hold of himself. Sackle held up his hands as though proving he didn't have anything.

"Now just relax, Crookie. Just relax," he said, calmly.

"But- But- But- But-"

"-RELAX!!" Sackle belted out. Crookie jumped back and shut up. Sackle put his arms down. "Sure, we don't know where the doll is. Sure, we don't know where that brown guy is. But, one way or another, we are gonna find that thing. I swear it." He gave a nod to his little assistant.

Crookie stared, then nodded back, slowly. "Okay, Boss," he said. He turned around, sat back down, and got back to work on the pineapple. He tore off a piece of its skin and Sackle went on with his sightseeing. In the middle of his pineapple-peeling activity, Crookie had to find the answer to something else. "Boss?"

"What is it now?" the thieving guy said to him.

"Where'd you get this fruit?" Crookie asked.

Sackle shrugged. "Some guy gave 'em to me."

"HEY, YOU!!" They both suddenly turned their heads around in the direction of where this voice was coming from.

"Busted again, Crookie," Sackle said. "Let's moooove out!" He started jogging, leaving both of their sacks behind.

"But, B- GWUGH!!" Crookie was forced to ditch the pineapple along with the rest of the fruit in order to start getting dragged yet again by his companion. Soon after that, he was on his own feet and was running beside his fellow thief without any assistance. They heard footsteps pummeling the grass behind them. At some point, Crookie decided to look over his left shoulder. He could see some big, brutal Pianta with orange skin was on their tails. He didn't look very happy.

"Boss," Crookie panted, "you just stole from somebody in broad daylight?!"

"It's something only the master can do, Crookie, my boy! Someday, maybe, you can do it, too," his boss replied.

"Hoyy!!" Crookie sighed. Their running continued. As the chase dragged on, it seemed the three people kept leaning more and more to their right. This was due to the fact that pretty much what they were doing was circling the volcanoe. Step after step, turn after turn, breath after breath, this went on. Then suddenly...

"In here!!"

"GWUGH!!"

Sackle had just pulled him into something. The Pianta that was pursuing them skidded to a stop, confused. He looked around, scratching his head. There was no sign of the jerk who stole his fruit anywhere, nor was there any of his little look-alike. Defeated, he shook his head and started walking back to the direction from whence he came.

"Darn it..."

* * *

Yazzee was lying on a floor of burning sand. He had bruises all over him which seemed to reflect the fact that he wasn't feeling too good. For a while, everything was black, and nothing seemed to matter. He heard nothing. Then he started hearing whirring noises. It kind of sounded like they were saying, "Zeee," in this mechanical voice. At last, he looked up and saw four things: A strange machine, a strange machine, a strange machine, and a strange machine. Each of them had a weird-looking head that had a wide open mouth like a trumpet, except it was silver. Then he just saw one of those odd implements.

_"Power-up complete. Thank you for purchasing this item from Mad Science Inc. Scanning for user information."_

The machine looked at Yazzee from top to bottom, from bottom to top. It could see various letters and numbers surrounding this yellow individual with such a confused look on his face. It could even see a screen that showed images of the person waving goodbye to a stork, handing a letter to a Yoshi just like him, but brown, and getting into a big fight with a Big Boo. Then it started talking again.

_"Subject identified as Yazzee Yoshino. Resident of Yo'ster Isle. Greetings. I am SPOWT. A Super Program of Operating Worldly Translations. I hope to be of assistance."_

Within moments, Yazzee had this handy device strapped around his waist and into his saddle. He was armed with a utility specially designed for speaking different languages, and he was looking quite studly in it, too. He stood defiantly on Sirena Beach with the sun shining brilliantly high in the sky. Then it turned its unusual head towards him.

_"Let the tour begin..."_

* * *

Somewhere off the coast of Noki Bay there was a little island in the middle of the ocean. It looked kind of lonely way out there in the middle of an endless stretch of water all by itself. Like a good few other islands out there, this one was a mass of palm trees surrounded by sand. Upon closer inspection, one could have noticed that there was more to this place than what would have met the eye. Somewhere deep inside this forest of tropical vegetation was a large dome-shaped, metal building painted green with various splotches of tan and brown all over it so it could blend in with its surroundings. Inside such a place, some pretty dubious people were stirring about.

There were three of them. They surrounded one end of a long table in a dark room, lit only by a squashed-looking cylindrical lamp dangling from the ceiling above them and the red lights at the ends of their smoking cigars. This suspicious trio was in the middle of discussing some matter or another.

"Well, Carro," said one of these figures, "we're waiting..."

"Alright," the one in front of him, Carro, said, hesitantly. "I think the X should go... Here." A pencil hovered above a certain area somewhere on the document the three-some was looking at. The pencil lowered itself and scratched out the X Carro was talking about. Then it floated back to where he was sitting.

The person sitting across from him breathed through his cigar and looked at his proposal interestedly. He spoke up. "Not bad. Not bad. However, Carro, I'm afraid there is one minute detail you seem to have overlooked."

"What's that?" he asked.

A slightly different pencil floated in front of this other person Carro was talking to. "You should have put it... HERE!" The new pencil stroked out a circle somewhere else on the document.

Carro looked shocked. "Oh, I knew it!! Why do I always miss that?!" He tossed his head back and waved it left and right.

"Admit it, Carro. Noone can beat Boscis, the ultimate master of tic-tac-toe!" his opponent boasted. The third person, who was the only one who hadn't spoken yet and the only one not wearing sunglasses, took a good look at Carro shaking his head and Boscis doing his victory dance. All three of these guys were giant, floating carrots with very ugly faces. This silent one had a more sagging, more scowling face than the other two, as well as a longer nose, angrier eyes, and plumier leaves trailing behind him as they grew out of the top of his head. Like the other two, he was also capable of making objects like pencils float through the air as though they were being held by invisible arms.

Finally, he said something. "You people bore me," said the third one. The other two looked at him.

"Well, Boss, it's been several months since we made that deal with those freaks, King Boo and the Eight Spookalings. You got the password right, we took care of the rest, and now the moon is looking round, but we still haven't gotten our money yet. What are we supposed to do until then, eh?" Boscis said.

"I'll tell you what we'll do," he growled. "We're going to leave this dump they call 'Half Moon' and we're going to actually do something fun for once."

"What're we gonna do?" asked Carro.

The leader thought about it for a bit. Then he said, "Let's gamble. Let's go to Sirena Beach. I hear they got a great casino there."

"Great idea, Boss!" agreed Boscis.

"Yeah, great idea!" said Carro.

"Alright, you people, let's get going," said their leader. They began floating away from the table and out of the room together, smoking all the way, leaving the collection of X's and O's behind. Soon after that, the light went out, and the room was pitch-black...

* * *

After pulling him into that cave, Sackle found that he was just as amazed as his apprentice was. The two of them were in a very different world. They were standing on a big, rectangular platform of what looked like orange wood which was floating in the middle of, quite literally, nowhere. In every direction, they could see darkness. Suspended in this darkness, there were stars. Not only that, but also these peculiar shapes swimming around. Some of them looked like choo-choo trains. The two thieves remained busy watching these oddities drift through this unfamiliar sky.

What they also noticed was that a ways beyond the platform they were then on was another one just like it, except it was much wider and was green, not orange. It seemed to go on for miles. What they also found intriguing was that this other platform had what looked like a big grey mountain taking up the space of its surface. It was spiky and had what resembled a bunch of plastic cubes of red and blue revolving around one another just above the colossal rock. It also had a wooden door with a knob to the right on the front, which just made it all weirder.

In addition to this, they took note of how a bridge of box-like figures made of sand appeared to be connecting the two platforms. The vicinity seemed to defy all kinds of laws of physics.

"Boss," said Crookie, "this place scares me."

"No, it doesn't, you wuss. It's just weird. That's all," said Sackle, bravely.

Crookie was gazing at the clouds of smoke coming from one of the trains. "I wanna go home," he whined.

"You can't," Sackle responded. It was kind of a cold sentence.

"Wha- Why not??" said Crookie, exasperatedly.

Sackle turned about 180 degrees and spread his arms out. "There's no exit, that's why." There was nothing but nothing right in front of him.

"Holy sh- This is bad, Boss. Really bad. Really, really, really bad." Crookie started jogging in place using tiny steps with one hand rubbing the other, nervously.

"Just RELAX, Crookie. We'll find a way out. I promise," Sackle said coolly, letting a hand slide across the air.

"Boss," Crookie said, turning his head to who he was talking to, "why did you take us here, anyway?"

Sackle shrugged. "I don't know. I just saw the cave while we were running from that guy, and I pulled you in. It's not my fault it took us here... Wherever this is..."

Crookie wasn't the least bit comforted. He was still looking around, being freaked out by the floating blocks and the stars.

"Alright, enough chat," Sackle brought up. "What say we have a little look-see in that cave there, hm?"

Crookie looked at him. "You mean that door, Boss?" He pointed to that very portal in the middle of the mountain in the distance.

"No, the other one, doof-head. Now let's go!" Sackle walked onto one of the sand blocks connecting the little orange platform to the big green one. He turned around and noticed Crookie wasn't following him. "C'mon, slowpoke!" he called out.

"Boss, I don't think- BOSS, LOOK OUT!!" he suddenly yelped.

"What the- ACK!!" Sackle jumped back. The block of sand he was just on nearly disappeared beneath his feet like a melting icecube. Unfortunately, the one he just hopped backwards onto was also beginning to disintegrate. "What- ACK!!" He hopped again.

"I'LL SAVE YOU, BOSS!!" Crookie yelled. He got into a sprint and dashed his way onto this whacky bridge. Sackle continued hopping backwards like mad, trying desperately to not let these dissolving things get the best of him. Crookie only had his feet on the first one for about a split-second before practically leaping onto the next one, letting it vanish into thin air. He kept running, and the bridge kept whithering away. Closer and closer to him, the hopping Sackle drew. Then finally...

"GWUGH!!" Crookie grabbed the blue-garmented one by his collar roots and started dragging him across the crazy overpass like all get out. He ran and ran and ran and ran until at last the green platform was within reach. With all his might, he leapt onto it, landed hard, and swung his boss right in front of him on the ground. Sackle sprawled a little. Crookie let go and placed his hands on his knees. Bending down, he started panting heavily. Sackle rubbed his head and got up off the ground. He swept the little grains of sand off himself, took one last look at the bridge, then let his eyes fall on Crookie.

"Thanks, buddy," he said. Crookie stopped panting and looked up, wide-eyed. Sackle looked back. "But don't you ever drag me like that again!" he added.

"Um, okay, Boss," he exclaimed. He put his head back down and resumed panting.

Sackle turned to face the door they sought out. He put his gaze on Crookie and spoke the next few words. "Well, then," he said, "shall we go in?"

Crookie stopped struggling to catch up with his breath. He started standing upright again.  
"Okay, Boss!"

Knock, knock, knock. Not far away, a blue light revealed all. A wooden door with a knob to the left turned slowly, letting the big plank gradually swing forward while making creaking sounds with the hinges. Two completely black heads with white eyes and hats of blue and yellow poked in and looked around.

Sackle and Crookie could see that a mere hallway was behind this door. It was lit by torches stuck in the stone-grey walls, all of them evenly spaced from eachother. These torches were composed of blue flames which seemed to provide such a location with a rather creepy and unsettling feel. In the distance, they could only see that the hallway faded into darkness.

"Booosss," Crookie moaned.

"Shut it, you. We're goin' in. No complaints," Sackle ordered.

"Awww," the apprentice griped.

"ANYBODY THERE?" Sackle rang out. He was only answered by the echoes of his voice. "Guess we're on our own, then." He heard Crookie whimper.

They let the door swing in all the way so they could waltz in. Crookie looked around a little more, even though there wasn't much to see. Sackle then closed the door behind them. He looked at Crookie.

"Let's go," Sackle commanded. Crookie shivered. The two of them commenced walking along the gritty floor of this creepy stretch, steadily. All the while, they remained extra alert. Both of them were sure to keep their eyes peeled, not willing to take any chances with such a foreboding abode. Sackle did this calmly, and Crookie did this fretfully. The whole time, it didn't feel as though that darkness at the end of the tunnel was drawing any closer. The innumerable blue flames going past them hypnotically did little to counter this awkward sensation. After a while, Crookie just couldn't take it anymore.

"Booosss," he whined, "what's with this place?"

"Like I have a-"

"-SSSNNNRRRKKK... sssSSSNNNRRRKKK..." Sackle's words were interrupted by an abnormal sound. It was nasal and it was coming from a few feet ahead of them.

"You hear that?" Sackle whispered.

"Snoring?" Crookie guessed. Sackle motioned forward. The duo trekked onwards. In due time, they reached it. To their right, there was an arch with probably a room behind it. They looked through it, and saw what could have been the source of the noise: A shadowy figure sticking out of a pool in the middle of an ovular room. There weren't really any lights in the room, so they could only make out so much. The two criminals exchanged weird looks.

"Should we wake him up?" Crookie suggested, quietly.

"Sure, I guess," his boss replied.

Sackle raised a fist and banged it against the wall. Knock, knock, knock.

"sssSSSNNNRRRKKK... sssSSSNNNRRRKKK..."

"Geez, heavy sleeper," Sackle griped. He wasn't satisfied by the results. He tried again. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"ZZzzrrg... Mph. Ugh. Is someone there?" The figure lifted its head up. It had long hair that was dripping wet.

"Um, uh, yeah," Sackle stammered. "Not that we're burglars, or anything," he started, "and I don't know how to explain this, but we kinda really need some help here."

"Yeah, what he said," Crookie agreed.

"Oh, gracious, I fell asleep in the tub, again," the person mumbled. "Could you two look away, please?" he requested. Sackle and Crookie turned around, obediantly. For a good number of seconds, the troubled couple stood there with that arch behind them, waiting for this new person, leaving him to do what he had to do. They could hear a few splashes and some wet footsteps, but that was about it.

"Oh, it's been too long since I've had guests," he mumbled to himself. The waiting continued. Finally, the man had himself wrapped up in a bathrobe, but his long hair remained damp. He stepped forward from his spot in the cave-like room. "You may turn around now," he said. Sackle and Crookie did so. They could see this silhouette walk its way into the blue light and become something visible. This man was averagely tall. His long, messy hair was brown, and so was his goatee. He was also adorning a pair of glasses. "Alright, boys, what seems to be the trouble?" he asked.

"Well," Sackle began, "we were just minding our own business, walking along this volcanoe, when suddenly we saw this cave. Crookie, here," he motioned towards the guy, "said to me, 'Hey, Boss! Let's go in this cave!'" He did a high-pitched voice to imitate his apprentice. "I said, 'No way, Crookie, bad idea.' But no, he went in anyway. I tried stopping him. Honest, I did."

"Uhhh," Crookie said.

Sackle moved the story along. "I went in after him, but now we're stuck in this weird place. Some luck, huh?" he finished. "So, do you live here or something? You know a way out?"

The strange man nodded. "Yes, I live here. I know a way out," he answered.

"Really? Right on! Show us," Sackle said.

"Very well, then," said the strange man. "Follow me."

The two guests stepped back, allowing this new helper of theirs to walk out of the arch and into the hallway. He started walking in the direction the other two had just been going in a second ago. They began to follow. Along the way, an explanation began to pour out.

"I am Mad Scienstein," he said, "and this, in case you were wondering, is the moon."

"THE MOON?!" his two listeners blurted out at once.

The walking and talking continued. "Yes, the moon. I always wanted to go the moon, and now I live there. Ever since I moved here, I've been inventing many things, including the Super Program of Operating Worldly Translations, and the Invisibility Potion. Actually, that last one I made up on accident. I was really trying to make an Invincibility Potion. I had a little trouble with the Clofide Enugulator Spectrum and the Enoobulator Spectrum, so I got the Invisibility Potion, instead. My friend, Elvin, got to invent the Invincibility Potion for me. It was like a trade! He called it Red Essence, or something. It looks like this peculiar red liquid in corked bottles. Too bad it's effects don't last very long."

"So that's what that one creepy Yoshi guy was drinking," Sackle whispered to Crookie.

"Did he say, 'Elvin'?" Crookie whispered back. Sackle just shrugged.

The three-some continued walking. Mad Scienstein started talking again. "Yes, me and Elvin go way back. In fact: There was this one time the two of us and a friend of ours, Amos, got into quite the heated debate with a trio of witches. It was madness, I tell you. Pure madness," he continued. "Well, sorry for the rambling. I don't know why I brought up all that stuff. Please; tell me about yourselves."

"Aw, what's to tell?" Sackle said, modestly. "I'm Sackle, and he's Crookie. We're just two guys who don't know how to get out of here. Right, Crookie?"

"Right!" he agreed. "One question, though," he added. "If this is the moon, how come it's not all cratery, and stuff?"

The eccentric inventer took it upon himself to explain, or at least try to. "Well, it's like a typewriter. You know how you can only type so much before you have to turn it and push it back to the left?"

"Yeah," the other two said.

"And you know how if a trashcan is right-side up, it's a trashcan, but if it's upside-down, it's a table?" he explained.

"Uhhh... Yeah?" they said.

"Well, it's like both of those. The moon has these things called lunarettes. They're an odd color, and they're kind of like toasters; bread goes in, toast comes out."

"Ummm..."

"But in order for toast to be useful, someone must eat it, right?"

"Riigghhtt..."

"The lunarettes have thousands of tiny little particles called motons. They are always going to the left, to the right, up, down, you name it. But they can only do that for so long before they become motrols."

"Huh?" Crookie exlaimed.

"What?" Sackle said.

"Nevermind," Mad Scienstein finished. "I don't know why I brought up all that other stuff. The moon's a very complicated, very mysterious place. That's all there is to it."

The hallway seemed to be getting a bit shorter. "Are we there yet? I wanna go home," Crookie complained.

"Well, you boys are in luck," said the odd inventer. Their sauntering had finally come to pay off. The hallway came to an end and the trio found themselves in the middle of another ovular room. This one was way bigger than the other one. It had all kinds of machines, shelves, and tools lying around in it. However, one of these things was able to catch the interest of the two people following the inventer a little more than the others. It was practically the pride and glory of the room, what with standing there in the middle of it and all. It practically went all the way up to the ceiling. It was a mostly tan-colored device that seemed vaguely humanoid. It had two short legs, but two very long arms. The bulk of the arms consisted of its lengthy claws. The majority of the head's face was hiding behind a big, black visor. The master and his apprentice were both quite in awe of this machine. "I see you boys have taken an interest in my latest creation, the Giga Mole."

"The Giga What?" they asked.

Mad Scienstein cleared his throat. "The Giga Mole. It's a giant robot I've been working on. It can do many things. It can tunnel through the ground, it can see in the dark, even find lost items."

Sackle and Crookie's eyes bolted wide open.

"Did he say it can..." Crookie trailed off.

"Yes. He did," Sackle answered.

"Not only that, but it also has heat-seeking missiles and force-field projectors. It's quite the technological feat, if I do say so myself. Or the engineering one. I'm not sure," the inventer droned on.

"Boss," Crookie said quietly, "we gotta get wunnadose."

"I know, I know. Especially since our stuff is gone," Sackle replied, just as discretely. He was referring to their sacks.

"Oh... Gosh... It is? Uggghhh..." Crookie moaned.

"Don't you worry about a thing, Crookie, we'll get this cleared up in no time," Sackle reassured.

"I swear, this thing will work miracles for mankind, just like the Super Program of Operating Worldly Translations and the Invisibility Potion will. I like to help people out. It's what I'm here for," their potential savior interupted. "Well, that's enough rambling for the day," he said. "I'll show you how to get out of here." He wandered over to one of the shelves and started pawing through his stuff. "Now where did I put that thing?" he mumbled to himself. He went over to one of its counters, pulled out a drawer and did the same thing with that. "Hmmm..." he hummed. He walked back up to his two customers. "This might take a while. You boys just make yourselves at home. I'll find it. I promise."

"Okay!" responded Crookie.

"Can do!" Sackle agreed. Mad Scienstein walked through another arch, no doubt beginning the rest of his search. The two schematic people he left behind remained standing around with not a whole lot else to do other than that. Then Sackle turned to his apprentice. "This'll pay off. I know it will," he said.

Crookie nodded. "Right," he spoke. The duo resumed their waiting...

* * *

Yazzee with the helpful, new SPOWT on his back, walked up the outdoor stairs of this new place and took a moment to observe the big building at the top of the steps. This was quite the impressive hotel that surely could have been seen from a good distance away. He continued up the steps and made his way before a Pianta wearing a red vest and a mustache. This guy was blocking the way inside the structure.

"Excuse me," Yazzee said, "but could you tell me about this place?"

SPOWT turned its head around so it could put Yazzee's words in the Pianta's language. _"He said he would like to be informed of the highlights of Hotel Delfino, please."_

Catching on, the Pianta said, Ah, certainly, Sir. Hotel Delfino is where tourists usually come to stay for the night while on vacation. We provide our customers with all the service they need to enjoy themselves. We've got an indoor swimming pool, very clean bathrooms, cushy beds, fruit, air-conditioning, and the sunsets are just gorgeous. We even have a casino where you can gamble your troubles away."

SPOWT repeated what the Pianta said to Yazzee, but in Yoshish, this time. "Really??" Yazzee said to it, excitedly. "They've got a casino?? Oh, hot dog! Let's go in!"

SPOWT asked the Pianta if they could go in. The Pianta complied, and the unlikely duo walked through the door.

_It's too bad,_ Yazzee thought to himself. _Yoshi, Xoshi, and Boshi should be here right now..._

* * *

What Yazzee didn't know of at that moment was that a certain trio of scheming carrots had similar plans. Their journey to that very Casino carried on.

_This should be loads of fun,_ thought the ugly leader, _Let's just hope nothing crazy happens..._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**  
Naji looked around himself. The dark grey clouds in the sky were swirling around eachother and drifting off in one direction way too fast like water in a river, and the ground looked like it was composed of dried mud complete with all the cracks in it, but the material was of steel, not mud. It was also like a mosaic of jagged knives. It was a good thing he had his shoes on. Buildings that looked like greater collections of knives decorated this bizarre realm.

"NAJI!!"

"NAJI, HELP US! PLEASE!!"

He looked up. Through those darkly-colored sunglasses of his, he could see that at the top of this metal tower right in front of him, his friends, Noshi and Fyooshi, seriously needed him. Unfortunately, he could also see a person with silver skin and long, white hair.

"Yes, Naji, help them. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your friends now, would you?" Cutlass waved a sword threateningly above a rope tied to a spike in the ground. This was what was keeping the rope from just sliding through the ring hovering above the cage that Naji's two friends were in, causing them to plummet into a deep pit with a lake of boiling lava at the bottom of it. The two of them clutched desperately at the cage's bars, looking equally frantic.

"CUTLASS!!" Naji yelled with his fists clenched. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!! MARK MY WORDS!!" He ran onto the ramp and started sprinting his way up this spiraling path that twisted its way around the tower.

"How amusing," Cutlass chuckled. He looked at a mob of silver men, just like him. They were armed with sais, daggers, spears, and clubs. "Kill him," he ordered. He said this in an unnaturally deep voice that obviously wasn't his.

His minions all yelled, "YES, SIR!" and they started descending the ramp Naji was trying to climb. Cutlass stayed behind with a devilish smile crawling across his face.

Naji was pumping his Yo'ster legs furiously. He could feel sweat beginning to creep onto his big nose and adrenaline firing away in his veins. For a while, he thought he was covering a good amount of distance in a good amount of time. Then the freaks were upon him.

"Back for more, eh?!" Naji growled. He made a shape like a white sun materialize before him for a moment, and then he let it loose. TSSEEEWWW!! He fired a laser beam right at the one coming for him with a pair of sais.

"AAAUUURRRGGHH!!!" The man screamed bloody-murder as his right arm was blown off by the spell in an explosion of silvery liquid splattering everywhere. One sai clattered to the shiny floor, and the other one fell off the tower. The man, himself, just came crashing down as an unconscious body. Naji didn't waste any time. He flutter-kicked over the fallen fighter and ran some more.

Before long, two more were asking to be pestered. "OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Naji roared. They didn't obey. They leaped through the air, daggers and spears in hand. Naji jolted into a stance, made a yellow lightning bolt shape appear, and sent two crooked lines of merciless electricity flash out of nowhere and pierce right through their chests.

"URRGGHH!!" they cried. They fell to the floor as the first victim did. Steam arose from their fried bodies. Naji flutter-kicked over them as well and started running again.

Naji was drenched in sweat. He couldn't let it bother him. In the middle of his racing, he lifted his right hand, tucked it beneath his shades, pinched his eyes shut and rubbed them for a second, then returned his hand to making the pumping action the other one was doing to help him keep running. He thought the top of the building was coming pretty close, but his thoughts turned elsewhere the instant ten of those goons showed up.

"RRRRAAAAAWWWWWGGGGGHHH!!!" He roared in fury as he made the symbol of an orange hexagon appear, slam both palms forward, and blast out of them a stream of jagged boulders. At the last minute, the gang tried letting out yelps of fear and turning around and/or ducking, but it was futile. They were plowed down and made into a mess of silver blood, torn clothes, broken bones, and even weapons sticking out of their own severed body parts. "RRRRGGGGG!!!" Naji vocally expressed his rage at the same time he ran through this ugly pile of limbs and body fluids, not caring how much it would ruin his shoes.

Blinded by anger and frustration, Naji raced onwards. He refused to stop or let a few annoying enemies get in his way. No matter what, they wouldn't stop coming. Not cutting back in the least, he would always let them have it. His spells chopped off heads, and his feet ran and jumped for what felt like hours. At last, he was able to burst up the ramp, see his smirking, silver-skinned nemesis, and get on with the real fight. Naji slammed his legs apart, closed his eyes, put his hands together like he was praying, and made the symbol of a red flame. By the time his eyes could fly open and his hands could unleash the wave of flames, he could see something truly disturbing.

A giant, purple arm flew up and took the blow of the flames. They splattered against it and disappeared. The arm returned to the side of a hip. Naji craned his head back to get a full view of this thing. "How do you like my new form?" Cutlass said in that scary voice again. He was 20 feet tall, and completely naked, wearing only a pair of boots, a pair of sunglasses, and a flowing cape with patterns all over it. They all looked very familiar to Naji. All this, and his body was muscular, purple, and scaly. It had a long, reptilian tail and a white oval going down its chest. The new Cutlass tilted his relatively unchanged head forward and looked at Naji above his new sunglasses. "Can you save them now?" he taunted.

"AAAUUUURRRGGGHHH!!" Naji screamed some more and made a blue teardrop shape form in front of him. He sent his palms forward, and made a tsunami come into existance right in front of him. It surged out of nowhere and went crashing against this massive, new opponent, relentlessly. Naji stood back and watched patiently, waiting for the waves to die down so he could see what damage he dealt. Once they did, a look of horror appeared on his face. All he did was make his enemy sopping wet.

Cutlass was still smiling. "Is that the best you can do?" he said. Naji clenched his fists tightly, making them rattle by his legs. He snorted, got into another stance, made a light blue-colored snowflake symbol show up, and set loose a barrage of icicles and freezing wind stampeding against this purple monster. Again, he was horrified to see that this didn't do a thing to the beast. Cutlass shook his head. "You're wasting my time. I shall finish you off now, and your friends will get to watch you go," he threatened. He lifted his arms in front of himself, and started flexing them so hard, they trembled.

Noshi and Fyooshi remained watching helplessly behind the bars. They were no more pleased to see Cutlass taking action than Naji was. They started yelling to him.

"NAJI, DON'T LET THIS FREAK BEAT YOU!!" said Noshi.

"C'MON, NAJI!! YOU GOTTA HELP US!!" said Fyooshi.

Still sweating, Naji looked at them and nodded. His gigantic enemy was beginning to make the wind pick up around himself, causing his cape to start flapping, dramatically.

"Alright, punk, you asked for it," Naji growled. He got his hands and feet into the right position, closed his eyes, concentrated with all his might, made the symbol of a silver hourglass in front of himself, sent his eyes open, and thrust his palms outward. He sent a humungous blade of rippling air with purple lightning bolts flying off of it go slicing through the space between the two fighters. Cutlass was still in his intimidating position when the dark attack exploded against him, making the air around him look as though it was mutating with purple electricity and all. Naji's jaw dropped open once he saw that this made no results either. At this point, his mind started to draw a complete blank.

"NAJI!!!" his friends cried out.

The grey symbol of an explosion showed up. At last, Cutlass's eyes flew open. He put his arms up into the air with the wind still around him. The swirling clouds in the sky started getting darker and faster. Naji only stood there not knowing what to expect. Finally, Cutlass threw down one arm and used it to point at Naji. The one that remained in the air snapped its fingers very loudly. It sounded like a whip cracking. Something started to fall from the sky. Naji looked up, and panick struck him.

SHING! SHING! SH-SHING! It was raining swords. Here, there, and all around him, they kept falling and jamming themselves into the metallic ground of the tower. Naji ran around frantically, trying his best to not get sliced. A few of them even went clattering against the top of the cage. Noshi and Fyooshi yelped and ducked at both the occurance and the noise it made. Completely distracted, Naji went on with the dance of dodging. Cutlass cackled menacingly with his arms folded. Then suddenly...

SNAP! A sword struck the rope and Naji's friends went falling in. He jerked his head to the right to witness his failure.

"NAAAAAAAAJJIIIIIIII!!!" they screamed. Naji watched in horror and despair as the cage fell from the air and got swallowed by the pit of lava. Smoke started pluming from where they hit. All Naji could do was stand completely still, barely moving and barely breathing.

"Huh huh huh..." he heard the monster laugh. "You see," he added, taking a step forward, "I told you I'd win." He said that last part in his normal voice. Naji heard this and his blood started boiling unstoppably. It made him feel as though he was suddenly lit on fire as though it, too, had become a mass of raging hot lava.

He looked over his shoulder, hate thrashing about in his eyes as he saw the enemy coming closer. He turned his head back forward, closed one quaking fist tightly, concentrated, and made the symbol of a gold star before him. He was about to perform a forbidden star-elemental attack.

"You must be so lonely now," Cutlass said, even closer. "Perhaps you'd like to join them?"

Naji turned his head around again. "You..." he growled. He spun his body completely around and, in the blink of an eye, shot like a bullet against the fiend's right leg. He clung to it and ignited into a body of sparkling, golden flames. "DIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!" Naji screamed for the last time.

Feeling an undescribable pain starting to devour his leg, Cutlass suddenly started screaming while losing his balance. "AAAUUUURRRGGGHH!!" he bellowed. He fell to the left and over the side of the pit. Cutlass was a giant monster with its leg being eaten away by this unforgivable force, falling harshly without a prayer into this boiling pit of lava. The two opponents were about to experience a draw...

Then Naji found himself in the middle of a grassy field. All around him, there were mounds sticking out of the ground, all of them with different arrangements of assorted flowers. Each of these mounds had dead bodies buried beneath him. He was in a graveyard. However, not all of these corpses were buried. One of them was still up and about. One of them started walking towards him. It was a Yo'ster with cuts all over him, a ragged blanket where a saddle would have been, and a skin-color that once was light blue, but now was more of a morbid grey.

Naji looked at him disbelievingly. "Blushi," he said to it, "is that you??"

"It was me," the dead Yoshi said to him, "you traitor..." Blushi made fists out of his hands and started cracking his knuckles.

"Blushi..." Naji began. As his old friend commenced striding towards him, he could hear a certain raven laughing hysterically and uncontrollably. This wild laughter came from the starlit sky, and it haunted Naji throughout the rest of the nightmare...

In reality, Naji was one of many poor souls that had been captured by these foul space aliens. He, along with many others, was in a vast, circular room lined with big tubes filled with green liquid like the one he was stuck floating in. Various hoses were coming out of his body doing things to it he was not aware of. This was the curse of the magical Yo'ster, and all he could do was sleep right through it until it was over...

* * *

Yoshi was unconscious. He couldn't really think anything, but he could feel soft, cool grass beneath his body. Then he started hearing people talking. Was it worth paying attention to? He wasn't sure. Regardless, he slowly pried his eyes open anyway.

"Mmmm," he moaned. "What happened?"

The guy sitting right next to him bolted upright and looked down at him. "Oh! You're awake!" said Fyooshi.

Yoshi picked himself into a sitting position on the grass. He rubbed his sore head. He heard what the person said, but he didn't comprehend it. "What?" he asked.

"What?" Fyooshi asked. He didn't understand, either.

Yoshi looked at him confusedly. "Do you speak Yoshish?" he asked.

"What?" Fyooshi said again.

"Nevermind," Yoshi mumbled. He looked away from the magenta-colored guy and started paying more attention to a bigger crowd of Yoshies a ways away from where he was seated.

_I guess he's not him afterall,_ Fyooshi moped in his mind. The two of him and Raphael had finally returned from Ren's big tree and were in the process of being about to determine whose tree it truly was. Fyooshi sat next to the dazed Yoshi and the gigantic bird stood with these colorful Yo'sters surrounding him.

"Citizens of Lava Lava Island," the oversized fowl said to them, "it is a long story, but I, Raphael, the Raven, have finally returned. I hoped to do so to cheerier faces, but word has reached me that your spirits have been broken by my brother, Ren, the Raven, who has been ruling in my absence. I know that he has been doing monstrous things to you since I left."

The Yoshies knew exactly what he was talking about. Memories of statue-building, sucking up, killing, and brutal punishments never ceased to cloud their minds. Raphael's speech went on.

"However, recently, I was given the opportunity to negotiate with him. Unfortunately, instead of agreeing to step down, he challenged me to a dual." The Yoshies all gasped at his words. Raphael spoke some more. "Yes. Tommorrow at this time, our bout will take place here, and it will determine who will become the new master of the island." Raphael was somewhat referring to how the orange sun was setting on the horizon at that moment. Everyone started murmuring amongst themselves about what this could possibly turn out to be. "Citizens of Lava Lava Island," he continued, shutting the audience up, "never again will you have to build anymore statues," he promised. "Never again will you have to degrade yourselves," he promised some more. "Never again," he went on, "will you have to put up with... My brother." The crowd started murmuring more excitedly this time. Then Raphael went for the big finish. "I swear to you," he said, louder, "I WILL win back the island! You will all be free!" The crowd erupted into an applause of cheering. They were jumping up and down, praising the former ruler. Neither Yoshi nor Fyooshi could ignore this. Unfortunately, only Fyooshi understood it.

"You wanna know what this is all about?" Fyooshi asked.

Yoshi looked at him, stared, and shrugged his shoulders. Fyooshi began a different approach.

"He," Fyooshi said slowly, pointing to Raphael, "is going," he made a gesture with his hands, "to fight," he punched the palm of his hand with his fist, "his brother," he finished.

Yoshi just kept staring at him, dumbfoundedly. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders again.

Fyooshi hung his head. "It's no use," he sighed. He went back to looking around. Upon doing so, he managed to see that a certain Yoshi with dark orange skin was speaking with the village's new hero.

"Raphael," he said, "we have total faith in you. Good luck."

Fyooshi observed this Yoshi, and thought about some things pertaining to him. He let out a humming sound. "Hmmm..."

What the excited Yo'sters didn't notice was that two female Magikoopas were right above their heads in the darkening sky, flying away on their broomsticks.

"Kammelina," said Kammeo, "what do you suppose those silly Yoshies were getting all worked up about, hm?"

"Like I have a clue, dear sister. Now quit your yapping. We're waisting precious time," her grouchy sibling replied.

"Fine," Kammeo grumped.

"Marinotropolis, here we come!" Kammelina boasted. The two witches flew off, resuming their journey to the city beneath the waves...

* * *

After the session with the Blushi, Naji found himself standing amidst a white circle in the middle of nothing but pure darkness. This circle faded into the black surrounding it, not allowing the ill-fated Yo'ster much of a way to see what the deal with this new place could possibly be. Then something walked out of the nothingness and into the light. It was a Yoshi that looked a lot like Naji, but with red skin, three scars going across his right eye like scratch marks, but no sunglasses. The blanket was almost the exact same one Naji was wearing.

"Long time, no see, Naji," he said. "How's my son?"

Naji hesitated. "Father," he spoke, "is that really you?"

"Yes, Naji, it's me," the red Yo'ster responded. "Listen, Naji," he ordered, "I worked really hard to raise you. Do you know what you're doing right now?"

Naji stared. "What am I doing?" he asked.

"You're sleeping," his father said. Naji had a confused facial expression. "That's right, you're sleeping. Do you know where you're sleeping?"

Naji shook his head. "I don't know, father."

"You're in a spaceship," he said. "THEIR spaceship. Do you know why they captured you?"

"Why, father?"

"Because you're powerful, "Naji's father stated, making a fist out of one hand. "And do you know why you're so powerful?"

"Why, father?" he asked again.

"Because I raised you," his father answered. "I raised you to be powerful... Fearless, quick, and powerful... Like me." Naji stood silently. His father continued. "They want your power, Naji. They want it really badly. So they captured you, they hypnotized you, and they stuck you in one of their tubes. They're trying to break you, Naji. They're trying to rid you of all the free will you have. And then you know what happens?"

"What, father?" Naji said slowly.

"You become their mindless, little puppet." Naji's father made a claw out of one hand, and gradually let it close up, tightly. "You'll become one of them. They'll use you in their little army. Their little army to conquer the world." He swung an arm to one side, harshly. "Is that what you want, Naji?"

Naji kept quiet, then shook his head. "No," he replied. "No, it isn't."

The father cracked his knuckles and got into a stance. "Then come on; fight me." A wind started to pick up around him. "Show me what you're made of." The wind got stronger. "Prove to me you're my son." He closed his eyes and made the symbol of a purple swirl. The wind got stronger and the father tore his eyes wide open. He raised his arms into the air. "DON'T LET YOUR MEMORIES EAT YOU ALIVE!!" He swung his arms forward, palms out, and fired a gigantic swirling tornado at his son. Seeing this massive spiral of grey on a collision course toward him, Naji thought fast and conjured up an enormous force-field. The invisible wall he created caused the cyclone to suddenly just splash into it and dissipate into the dark empty air. Naji let the shield down, created a green leaf symbol, and sent a stampede of poison needles come hailing down on his own parent, but he thought fast, too. Naji's father brought a similar wall into existence, and the venomous pins went clattering against thin air. They vanished the instant they went clammering to the ground. The elder of the two let his shield drop, and he brought his hands together as he got into a sideways stance, facing his son. A light started blinking between his fingers. "That's it, son," he said, "fight for your freedom. It's the only way..."

Naji got into a slightly different position, and started concentrating his thoughts once again. The two fighters were very ready to give it their all. Naji's body started to glow, and his father's hands were getting blindingly bright. This was going to be a nightmare the purple Yo'ster wasn't ever going to forget...


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**  
After another day of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and just generally enjoying themselves, another night had fallen for a certain family, and it was time for bed once again. A dark, starlit sky hung peacefully above the dome of Dr. Kamenstein. Inside, the good-nights were going around once again.

Storko tucked Wario and Waluigi snugly beneath their covers in the cribs. "Have a nice rest, boys," he said on his way out, turning the light off and closing the door. The two brothers started chuckling mischievously...

In the guest room, the caring woman, Marilyn, was doing virtually the same thing with her two children. Tessa got the bed to her mother's left, and William got the one to the right. "Sweet dreams," she said to them, about to walk out of the room.

"Mom?" Tessa suddenly called out, stopping the parent and turning her around. "Since dad's not here, can you tell us a story before we go to sleep?"

"Yeah, tell us one," William agreed.

Marilyn thought about it, and then she walked back to her daughter's bed. She sat down on it, facing a diagonal angle so both kids could be within good seeing and hearing range. "Alright," she said. "Let's see..." She put a finger to her lips, trying to flip through the pages of her mind. Then she had it. Her finger came down. "I've got it," she said. "It's a poem I made. It's not exactly like the ones your father would make, but I hope it works anyway."

"Let's hear it," Tessa encouraged.

"Yeah," said William.

"Alright, here goes..." The children leaned in closer. Marilyn closed her eyes and breathed in. Then the poem started flowing from her lips...

_"When the times are looking grim,__  
__When the skies are turning dim,__  
__When I'm drowning, and cannot swim,__  
__When my chances are looking slim,__  
__I can always count on you._

_When I'm falling, and cannot fly,__  
__When there's nothing I can buy,__  
__When I feel I'm going to cry,__  
__When I feel I'm going to die,__  
__I can always count on you._

_You always come with your weapon in hand.__  
__You always come with a strategy planned.__  
__You scare the monsters from the land.__  
__You make them die right on command.__  
__I can always count on you._

_You're my brave and virtuous knight,__  
__Filled with valor and awesome might.__  
__When I'm blind, you give me sight.__  
__You're my shining ray of light.__  
__I can always count on you._

_You've come and gone. You had to get__  
__To the faraway land of Mezuellette.__  
__But I do not worry. My mind is set.__  
__You, my friend, I will never forget.__  
__I can always count on you."_

With those last few words, the poem came to an end. Tessa looked at her mother admiringly. "That was beautiful, mom," she complimented.

"Thank you, Tessa," Marilyn said. With the poem and the exchange of comments complete, the adult could leave her offspring in peace. She left the bed, made her way to the door, and put a finger on the light-switch. "Good night, children," she said. A flick later, the light was out.

"Good night, mom," the two kids said. Marilyn closed the door behind her and she left the pair in the dark room. Only a sliver of light glaring through the space between the bottom of the door and the floor was able to make its way in. Tessa turned to one side and made herself comfortable. William remained awake with his thoughts.

_It's been a while since I got to see that music box,_ he was thinking. _What am I going to do?_ He made careful note of what the miniscule thing was that was allowing itself to illuminate the lightless vicinity ever so slightly. _I've got it,_ he declared. _Once that light goes out, I'll make my move..._

The young boy turned to one side as his sister did, closed his eyes, and commenced pretending he was asleep...

* * *

The Koopa Klan had done it. After a good amount of time, they had finally used their lovely boat, the Koopa Cruise, and taken it to arrive at their much-awaited destination, the Clattagin Woods. It was a strange forest made out of paint. It was like a two-dimensional work of art come to life. The forest appeared to be stuck in a version of autumn taken up the next level, complete with more hues than ever. All the plants, trees, leaves, flowers, blades of grass, and even the birds were coated with strokes and wisps of a semi-liquid material, or so it seemed. Leaving a few others behind to protect the ship just to be safe, Gorroh, Helga, Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and that one green Koopa Troopa had gotten off of the boat the minute it came to this strange, but beautiful place to journey for hours through a land of red, orange, white, green, purple, and blue colors fading into one another like an artist's masterpiece. After a long day's work, the six-some was able to find a location to rest, whip out the tents, and bed down for the night. The tents were arranged around a dying fire. Five tents were set up. Four of them were for Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and the Terra Pin, but the fifth one was the only one made for two: Gorroh and Helga. The two of them were lying down in it making out.

They pawed, petted, stroked, smooched, and hugged eachother passionately. At some point, the two of them were able to slow down the romantic activity and just enjoy gazing into eachother's eyes. Then Gorroh got to say something. "So, Helga, how do you like the Clattagin Woods so far?" he asked.

"It's very pretty," she said, brushing his fiery mane.

"Yes, it is," he said. "It kind of reminds me of that one story you once told Bowser about the Pied Painter."

"Mm-hm," Helga concurred, remembering the tale also.

"Speaking of which," he inquired, "what story did you tell him tonight, pray tell?"

Helga scrunched her eyebrows up slightly. "He asked me to tell him the one about the Super-Happy Tree again."

Gorroh nodded. "Ah. That one. I take it he really likes it?" he guessed.

"I suppose so," Helga said, although a little on the doubtful side. "He kept asking me all these questions like, how to get to Yoshi's Island, and if there's a chance the Yoshies would be able to get their tree back if someone stole it."

"Hmm. Most interesting," Gorroh commented.

"I think he's up to something, dear," Helga suspected.

"Well, of course, he is, Helga. He's a Koopa. He plots. He schemes. It's what we do," Gorroh explained.

"I suppose so," Helga said. The two of them lay down in their tent for a little while longer, looking into eachother's eyes. Pretty soon, they had one another in their grips again, and the kissing could go on...

Meanwhile, in another tent, Bowser was lying down as comfortable as ever, but still with a few bandages here and there. As he was laying there with his head resting against a pillow and his body beneath a sleeping bag, his mouth was mumbling things. "I'll get you fo dhis, you gween donkey," he said in his sleep, "if it's dhe wast t'ing I do..." His mouth stopped moving, and the tiny tyrant's slumber could resume...

Elsewhere, Arris was busy mumbling different words as he dreamt. "Full... Speed... Ahead..." he was saying...

In a tent different from the one Arris was in, the green-shelled servant was also having conversations with himself without even knowing it. "Another Maple Syrup, Sir?" he said, groggily. "They're throwing some kind of sweepstakes, you know..."

However, in a tent that didn't belong to any of the others, the Magikoopa, Kamek, was still lying awake. He was writing something down. "Blast," he grumbled. "I can't believe I'm stuck doing this again..." A pen scribbled out the following inscription:

_"...And then I finally came to my senses. I finally realized that I had been speaking in the third person the whole time..._

Kamek thought about what to say next. Then suddenly it happened again. "Ahh!!" he moaned. He wasn't in a tent anymore; he was in the jungle. Right in front of him, those same two apes he saw earlier were helping themselves to some bananas. He saw only that, and he was back in the tent again. Kamek blinked, disbelievingly. "Hmmm," he said. "I'll have to tell Gorroh about this later..." He said those words, and he got back to work on the pack of lies...

Unknowingly, right above their heads the whole time, that mystery woman was on her broomstick once more watching everything dutifully.

"So, sleeping on the job, are you? Well, enjoy yourselves while you can! The most beautiful koopa in existence has her eye on you. Bleh heh heh heh heh heh hehh..."

* * *

William had to summon up every last scrap of patience he could find within himself in order to be able to survive the wait it took for that light beneath the door to go out. Seconds, minutes, even hours passed. He wasn't sure how long he could hold out. _Dang it,_ he thought, _When is Mom gonna go to bed, already? That talking music box needs my help!_ Unfortunately for him, complaining about it in his head wasn't really going to speed things up. He had to go on lying in his bed, pretending to sleep, waiting for that light to go out. After what seemed like an unbearable amount of time, it finally happened. Click! The light was out, and nothing could brighten the room up. _It's about time,_ he thought. Through the darkness his eyes had managed to adjust to, he was able to crawl out of bed, get back on his feet, and quietly sneak his way over to the door, remaining careful all the while to not wake his sister.

He had his hand on the doorknob. Carefully, he turned it without making a sound. Within moments, he was on the other side. Then he had to silently tip-toe his way past the door to the nursery, down the hallway, right up to the door to the lab just like before. It was left slightly ajar. He gently pushed the portal open, not making any noise in the process.

Regardless, he started to hear some screaming, and panick struck him. _Rrg! Stupid babies,_ he thought, looking flustered. Not knowing what else to do, he quickly squeezed his way right through the space he made, and slammed the door shut with his back, hoping it didn't make too loud a sound. He waited uncomfortably with his body shaking, his face sweating, and his heart pounding. A few seconds later, he could hear that stork mumbling to himself again.

"Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear. Don't worry, boys, Storky's coming..."

More tiny fragments of time passed, and William felt he was in the clear once again. _That was close,_ he thought, relieved. He was very glad the ordeal had come to blow over, but he was also perfectly aware that his mission was far from over.

_Ah, so you've returned..._ The voice was back, just as he was.

"Yes, I have," William said quietly.

_Well, come on, dear, don't keep your Annie waiting..._

William nodded and got moving again. He went past the counter with the creepy blueprints on it, around the corner, and up to the shelf just as before. Without any trouble at all this time, he found it: The music box. Like he was told, it was brown and had a big question mark on the front. It resembled a treasure chest with a crank sticking out of its side.

_That's the one, boy. Go on. Give it a few turns..._

William put his little hands out, grabbed the contraption, and pulled it closer to him. He paused. Once again, he could hear Storko's voice. "Don't you worry, Madame. You just go back to bed now..." Still, William hesitated.

_Well, go on, boy, don't be afraid..._

The child obeyed once again. With his right hand holding the device up, he placed his left on its handle, grabbed it, and cranked it forward. Pop! William gasped. That movement caused the upper, rounder half of the music box to fly up. Connecting it to the bottom half was some type of transparent cylinder that seemed to be hidden in it whenever it was closed, hence making the box smaller. William stalled some more. He had to observe the strange, but highly detailed and very handsome statue that was inside this cylinder. It looked like a wondrous angel. This angel had everything an angel needed. It had a flowing, white skirt with an intricate pattern swimming across it, plenty of jewelry to decorate its wrists and its neck, a long staff that looked equally fancy (with magic powers, most likely), pretty hands, and two plumy wings sticking out of its back. While its garments were spectacular things to behold, this angel bore no top, so there was nothing covering her chest. Her exposed breasts somehow reminded William of his mother. However, what he found even more intriguing was how her head was not that of a woman sharing the same race as his mother, but rather something completely different. This angel was a masterpiece with the unsettling head of a jackal. He felt it was quite a specimen he was looking at.

"Is that you??" he asked.

_Perhaps..._

William decided to stop wasting time and get on with it. With his left hand, he started turning the music box's crank. Pretty soon it was playing a haunting melody. It was an enigmatic lullaby with a touch of mischievousness added to it. The song seemed to hypnotize William. As he turned the crank, the song played on, and the statue inside the cylinder slowly whirled around. The entire box itself, along with the statue, was gradually getting brighter. The whole thing was becoming ever so slightly more and more engulfed in light. He was with his thoughts focused on absolutely nothing else. This strange activity carried on, as did the eerie tune.

_Any time now,_ William thought nervously.

Soon after he thought it, it happened. The last note had chimed. At this point, the light was so bright, the boy could barely keep his eyes open. He had to use his left hand to shield them. The statue had finished its rotating, and the next event occurred. A gigantic flash suddenly erupted from the cylinder. William yelped, dropped the box, and jumped back, covering his eyes. The music box clattered on the floor, and it seemed the entire laboratory was glowing with this blinding sensation. William wasn't thinking about whether or not this could wake anybody up. He was thinking about when the light would go away. It burned his eyes even with having them clenched shut with both hands acting as blinders. When at last he could feel the burning starting to die down, he could remove his hands and see the results of what he had done.

The room was still quite bright at the moment. It seemed to be because of the figure that was standing right in front ot the music box he had just dropped. This thing was humanoid and medium-sized and seemed to be made completely out of light. Its slanted, feminine eyes were glowing a light blue color. Even then, the light was still dying down. As the room got darker, so did this new being. Slowly, its colors whithered away. In time, it became something with eyes that remained the same shape, but still completely different. They had rainbow colors swimming across them. It was like a warped version of the sky going from red, to yellow, to green, to blue, to purple, and back to red again thanks to the rising and setting sun, but in fast-motion. The rest of this new person's body also remained unchanged in shape, but changed in color. It was like the black-and-white version of the eyes. They kept going from black, to grey, to white, and so on, as though it was made out of something called dark light.

William could see that this person was like a bizarre shadow that walked upright and bulged out in all the right places like any regular thing that could cast a shadow. However, he could make out very little detail. He could tell this odd silhouette-like person had a skirt, jewelry, prodigious breasts, and the head of a jackal like the statue, but nothing else. What made it all even more peculiar for the boy was that, unlike the statue, this person had four long, pointy fingers on each hand instead of the five-fingered, normal-looking, delicate ones, and a pair of gargoyle-like wings in the back rather than the angellic ones. He was confused and terrified.

The woman he had just freed closed her eyes, stretched her arms, and arched her back. Then she started twisting her body to the left, and then to the right. "Thank you, my boy," she said, using a voice that was spoken out loud rather than inside his head. She folded her hands in front of her. "You have no idea how uncomfortable it can be, spending over 300 years trapped in a box."

William didn't answer. He kept lying on the floor staring at this dark woman without blinking. She strode over to him with her hands still folded, seeming to just glide above the floor with that billowing skirt.

"I must repay you," she said once she was directly in front of her savior. William didn't stop staring. The intimidating woman tilted her canine head up, and suddenly shot two laser beams from her eyes. It hit something invisible in midair right before her face. Smoke started coming from that space, seeming to gradually change shape. Once the transformation was complete, this new object plopped from the air and into the sorceress's hands. It was a sword. It had a nice-looking handle of silver, and a blade that was pitch-black. Light could not escape its surface. Flowing across it were runic symbols that glowed bright green. They kept coming from the handle, sliding across the weapon's main part, and then vanishing beneath the tip. The symbols kept doing this pattern of appearing, moving, and disappearing. She lowered the sword in front of William. William fixed his frightened gaze on the sword. "Take it," she requested. He couldn't do it at first. Then he worked up his courage, got on his knees, put out his hands, and took the tool from the lady. His arms jolted downward at the sudden weight being added to his palms. He didn't drop it, though. "It's called the Essembi," the woman explained. "It's yours now, dearie. Use it to vanquish evil. I don't need it anymore." Still William didn't respond. The woman started gliding her way to the door of the lab. Once she got there, she stopped, turned around, and raised her voice slightly. "By the way," she added, "I am Annabyss, Queen of the Anuboos." She turned back around, tried the knob, and walked out the door. "Remember it..." She left William behind, sitting on the floor with that nice, new sword in his hands. Still, his eyes wouldn't blink. His mind remained in a state of something that was a mixture between appreciation and guilt in addition to confusion and terror. Did he do the right thing?...

This strange, new woman was walking through the dim halls of Kamenstein's dome. Upon waltzing about, she managed to come across another woman with long, wavy, black hair and a nightgown. Her facial expression was groggy. Then she saw Annabyss and she immediately woke up.

"Wh-Who are you??" she asked. "What are you doing here?!" Marilyn was scared out of her wits.

"Just calm down, dear. Treating me like a burglar isn't going to help," Annabyss advised.

"STORKO!!" Marilyn shrieked suddenly. "STORKO, HELP!!"

Wherever that bird was, it seemed he wasn't the first to react. In his crib, the little Wario suddenly jolted awake. He got up and tapped on one of the bars of his infantile bed. With that, his brother, Waluigi, was awake, too. They looked at eachother. Wario pointed to himself, then to his brother. Then he pointed to the door, and he smacked a palm with a fist. Waluigi nodded.

"HELP!!" Marilyn panicked further. "STORKO, HELP!!"

Annabyss sighed. "I'm sorry, dear." Suddenly, the shape of her body warped. Now it looked more like an oversized black-and-white flower with rainbow eyes. The flower sent two big leaves to where its lips would be, gave them a kiss, and blew it in Marilyn's direction.

"HEL-" She was cut off. A yellow dust was sprinkled over her body. She suddenly went cross-eyed and she plopped down onto the floor, unconscious.

Annabyss reverted back to her original shape and form. "Forgive me," she said quietly. She turned to her left and continued walking. She didn't get very far. She heard an "A-HEM" and she turned around. The two mutant babies, Wario and Waluigi, were standing side-by-side with their fists clenched. "Ah, what's this? Two products of a rebellion against Mother Nature, I see. How intriguing..." she mused. The boys got into fighting stances and lunged. Wario was flying with his fists ready, and Waluigi was flying with one foot out, prepared to kick. "Feisty little angels," she chuckled. WHUMP! WHUMP! The two young fighters collided with the air in front of their opponent, and they fell to the dome floor on their padded butts. They shook their heads and looked up, confused. This time, Annabyss had taken on the form of a dark Yoshi with rainbow eyes and one hand out. "So, you think your purpose is to inflict harm upon poor Annie?" She turned back into her normal form, dropping the force-field, and then she morphed again. This time, she looked like a dark, female Magikoopa on a broomstick. She raised a shadowy wand that appeared out of nowhere. "Don't worry, dears, I'll help you with that..." Wario and Waluigi had gotten back up just to suddenly drop back to the floor again. They had their hands covering their trademark hats this time. WHOOSH! Annabyss fired a swirling, colorful trio of a triangle, a circle, and a square. They splashed into the air between the youthful duo, and they started flashing rainbow colors. As they flashed, they grew larger. Their shapes also changed as well as their clothes. In a matter of seconds, the transformation was complete. They stood up and let their changes be seen. No longer were they a pair of babies in diapers. Now they were full-grown men with exaggerated chins, big teeth, dark pink noses, wicked mustaches, oversized cheekbones, large, pointy ears, full heads of hair, and rainbow eyes, not unlike the ones Annabyss had. Complete with the short, fat body, the purple overalls, the green shoes, and the yellow T-shirt of Wario, and the tall, scrawny body, the black overalls, the orange shoes, and the blue sweatshirt of Waluigi, the two new men looked just like the ones in the blueprints. They tilted their heads up at Annabyss in perfect synchronization. "There," she said to them, turning back into her usual self. "Now society will accept you."

The transformed duo, in perfect synchronization, clicked their heels together, kept their left arms by their sides, raised the right arms, thumped their fists against their hearts, then extended them forward all the way with the palms facing downward, but uplifted slightly. "Ja, Madame," they said at once. Their voices changed as well.

Annabyss was amused. "Are you going to behave now?" she asked.

The Kamenstein Bros. nodded. "Ja, Madame," they said again.

"Good," she said. "We'll be needing a vehicle. Can you boys help?"

They nodded again. "Folgen Sie uns, Madame," they said.

"Alright..."

Not only was William inexplicably gone, but it was also getting quite noisy. Tessa couldn't take it anymore. She had to find out what in the world was going on out there! She hopped out of bed, ran to the bedroom door, and opened it up. There, on the floor, she could see her mother lying on the floor with her eyes closed. "MOM!" she cried. She ran up to her and got onto the floor beside her waist. She put two hands on it and started shaking her. "Mom, wake up! Tell me what's going on!" she urged.

"THE BABIES!!" they heard a voice shriek. "THE BABIES ARE GONE!!" The tardy Storko flapped his way madly out of the nursery. He saw Marilyn and Tessa on the ground. "What in-" he started. He flapped on over to them. "What's going on??"

"She..." Marilyn was slowly coming to. Both Storko and Tessa were eager to hear what she had to say. "She... Came... From... The laboratory..." she got out.

"The laboratory??" Tessa said.

"OOHH, I knew I'd slip up!! Dr. Kamenstein's gonna kill me!! How can this be happening?!" Storko moaned.

"She... Turned... Into a flower... Knocked me out..." the drowzy adult mumbled.

"She who??" Tessa said.

"The Queen of the Anuboos..." Storko and Tessa turned their heads in the direction of the laboratory's door. William was there with a sword in his left hand and his head hung low.

"Will," Tessa asked, "Where'd you get that sword?"

"Who or what is the 'Queen of the Anuboos'??" Storko asked.

"I-" William stammered. His voice was cut off by a noise in the background. Ttssseeeeeee... It sounded like an airplane was taking off.

"Oh, NO!! Someone's stealing the Kame Cruiser!!" Storko panicked.

"IT'S HER!!" Tessa shouted. She jumped up from the floor, left her mother behind, ran past a flustered Storko, and down the hall. William soon went after her.

"TESSA! WILLIAM!! NO!!" Storko yelled. He noticed a tear rolling down the side of Marilyn's face. Her damp eyes were shut, her eyebrows were scrunched, and her mouth was twisted and trembling. "Oh, dear..." Storko worried. He hopped up to her and bent down. "Madame," he said, "are you going to be alright?"

Marilyn gulped back the phlegm forming in her throat. "Save them..." she requested. Storko nodded. He went flapping his way down the hall...

In the doctor's arsenal/garage, a certain buck-toothed jet was starting to take off. Tessa ran through there as fast as she could. Somehow, she managed to catch up with it in time. Just when the device was barely beginning to lift itself into the air, she lunged with all her might and grabbed a hold of one of the legs keeping the wheels in place. William ran into the garage and started chasing after with both hands clasped around the Essembi's handle. He kept running for it even after crossing the thin line between the doctor's wide room and the dirt of the outdoors. He witnessed the wheels of the jet tucking themselves into it, making his sister disappear with them. "HEY!!" he called out. "HEY, WAIT! COME BACK HERE!! YOU'VE GOT MY SISTER!!" He went sprinting onwards with his sword, but it was futile. The Kame Cruiser was in the air, it was going way faster than him, and even if he could catch up with it, chasing after it still wouldn't have done him any good. "YOU'VE GOT MY SISTER! COME BACK HERE!!" he kept yelling. His mind was clouded by anger, frustration, and confusion. His feet kept moving as fast as they could. "COME BACK HERE! COM-" He tripped over a rock jutting out of the ground. It resulted in a bloody mark going across his bare foot, his sword flying from his hands, and his body tumbling head-over-heels. He went flying off the cliff that Dr. Kamenstein's dome was built on. "AAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHhhhh..." He screamed as he fell from the height, and his sword was tumbling from it as well.

"I don't like the sound of that," Storko said, late again. He flew as fast as he could through the vast room, out into the night. He was almost to the cliff's edge when he heard a SPLASH. He flapped his wings some more, landed, and skidded to a halt. He peered over the edge. There was nothing but the rolling river at the bottom of the cliff. He looked up and could see that the Kame Cruiser was just another white speck in the sky. He slowly stepped back and collapsed to his knees. He buried his eyes in his feathery wings, keeping his long beak out of the way. "This can't be happening," he groaned to himself. "The babies are gone, the Kame Cruiser's gone, Tessa's gone, William's gone... How am I going to explain this to Marilyn? How am I going to explain this to Dr. Kamenstein??" He remained in his woeful position a while longer, basking in his grief and his self-pity. Then he tore his wings from his eyes, threw his head back, and made his voice explode. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!!" he roared. His cry of despair rang out into the sky, causing birds to fly away from their trees and rodents to go scampering back into their holes. For a response, he only got the valley repeating his words back to him an mournful echo. He put his eyes in his wings, and bent forward again...

Inside the jet, Waluigi was being the pilot, Wario was being the co-pilot, and Annabyss was in one of the two seats behind theirs. "Well, I hope you're happy," she grumped. "They probably won't mind my borrowing you boys, but who knows what they'll think of us stealing their jet? I can't believe you talked me into this..." She shook her head.

Wario and Waluigi spoke in unison again. "Unsere Entschuldigungen, Madame."

"Don't worry about it," Annabyss said. "We've got a lot of work to do..."

Meanwhile, on that same jet, in a dark and rather uncomfortable chamber, Tessa was having troubles of her own. _Mom, Storky, Will,_ she thought, _I hope you're all alright..._

Her brother, Will, was floating unconsciously atop the surface of the raging river. As the jet flew off into the night sky, this unfortunate young boy was uncontrollably rolling with this water, not even knowing it. It carried him deep into a forest, on its way to unknown regions. Both he and his sibling were bound to find themselves in places even further away from home...


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**  
Morning had come. The sky was orange with the rising sun and the grass was damp with the newly-formed dew. Jeila had decided to spend such a time with the island's pride and glory, the Super-Happy Tree. She stood atop the hill, bowed, and knelt down with her hands folded and her eyes closed in a prayer gesture. The meeting began.

_Good morning, Jeila,_ the tree said to her.

_Good morning, Mother,_ Jeila said back.

_What can I do for you?_ it asked.

_Mother, I just pray for world peace, good will towards men, and an end for world hunger,_ Jeila asked.

_Let it so,_ it responded. _Will there be anything else, my child?_

_Yes, Mother,_ she said. _I'm worried about Xoshi. He's so funny, smart, and cute... I like him a lot. But I keep getting the feeling he's probably hurt or something. Tell me, Mother: is he going to be alright?_

_You needn't worry about a single thing, my child,_ the tree reassured. _Your Xoshi is in a fascinating, new place with plenty of sunshine and palm-trees. He's even made some new friends..._

_Oh, really??_ Jeila said, relieved. _That's wonderful! I'm so happy for him._

_Yes,_ the tree said. _He has many adventures lying in wait for him._

_Oh, he's so lucky..._ A void was allowed to drift its way into the conversation at this point. Then Jeila broke the silence. _Mother,_ she asked, _were Xoshi and I... Meant for eachother?_

_Ah, Jeila,_ said the tree. _Don't you worry one bit, dear. Xoshi has you in his thoughts. As you live out your days, you will experience happiness, sorrow, and anger. Faraway, Xoshi will feel the exact same things. You and Xoshi are two parts of a whole, my dear, and in the end, you will both be very happy..._

_Oh..._ Jeila thought, feeling a wave of joy wash over her. She felt everything was going to be alright afterall. _Thank you, Mother..._

* * *

Xoshi leaned his form against a blazingly hot wall. He was in the middle of the entrance to where he met White Rose. In front of him, the vast, palm-tree-filled desert remained ready for his arrival. Behind him, the town of tiny, turbaned people was prepared for his departure. Until the time for both of these came, he was engaged in a game with his head-mate.

_...When someone says, "Hi," you say..._

_"...Hi."_

_When someone says, "How are you?" you say..._

_"...Fine. You?"_

_When someone says, "Nice weather we're having," you say..._

_"...Xoshi hate it. It too hot."_

_No... No, no. Xoshi, I know it's proper in Yoshish to refer to yourself in the third person, but in-_

"-Are you ready, Sir Xoshi?" The game got interrupted just when Beel was in the middle of correcting Xoshi again. Their latest recruitment, the mysterious White Rose, had returned from his trip to the market. He had purchased a Thunder Bolt, a few Honey Syrups, some Dried Pasta, a number of Mushrooms, and even a Dried Shroom with some Dusty Hammers. Hopefully, they'd all come in handy on their trip.

_When someone says, "Are you ready, Sir Xoshi?" you say..._

"...'Yes I am,'" Xoshi answered.

_Good,_ said Beel.

"Good," said White Rose. The enigmatic man walked up beside the brown Yo'ster. "Now I must warn you, Sir Xoshi," he said, "the desert before us is infamous for its Pokeys. I'm quite certain one or two will not be too much trouble for us, but one of them is enormous and a confrontation with it would be most unfavorable. We may or may not bump into it. I trust you'll be prepared?"

_When someone says..._ Beel repeated White Rose's words, then said, _...You say..._

"...'Yes I am,'" Xoshi responded.

_Hm... Getting there..._ Beel said.

White Rose nodded. "Alright, then. Let's be off..."

The conversation was complete, and so was the wait. The Yoshi and his companion at last could leave the new place, Dry Dry Outpost, so they could go on finding themselves in even more fascinating, new places. Already they were in the wide, open land of sand, Dry Dry Desert. If they played their cards right, they'd be able to reach Shooting Star Summit in due time...

_If only Jeila were here,_ thought Xoshi...

* * *

Back on Yo'ster Isle, a certain pair of Yoshies was leaning against the front two pillars of a certain hut. They kept waiting there, watching all the other Yoshies perform their daily morning routines. They were gathering fruit, target-practicing, and playing games. It was just another day.

"Man," said Pinky, "who'd have thought guarding Xoshi's house from burglars would be so boring?"

"The lucky dog," muttered Oshi. "He's probably living it up in some fancy hotel, or something, right about now, and we're stuck here!"

"Why didn't we get to go to Isle Delfino with him, Yazzee, Yoshi, and Boshi? We helped, too, didn't we?" Pinky griped.

"Speaking of Boshi," said Oshi, "what do you think his little substitute, Pish, is doing over there?"

"Hm?" Pinky grunted, observing the purple Yo'ster talking to some new person.

"So, uh," Pish said, awkwardly, "you got... da cookies?" Pish nodded his head at this person with his arms folded and his eyes squinted.

"Yoooouu bet I do!! I've got cookies, I've got rookies; I've got Sackles, I've got Crookies. I got what you want right here, biatch!! All for the low, low price of a little racey-race. What do ya say, chum? Friends? Bends? Help me out here." Pish was talking to a small, Raven-like creature with a curly, golden unibrow.

"Alright then- I mean-" Pish shook his head and folded his arms with his eyes squinting again. "-you got yaself a race, buddy," he said just as awkwardly.

"Ka-fwee hee HEE!! You is-a goin' DOWN!!" said the creature.

"What the-" Pinky mumbled.

"Who is that??" Oshi mused.

Pish looked away from the black thing and held his arms out. He raised his voice. "ALRIGHT, EVERYBODY, GATHER 'ROUND!" he called out. Almost immediately, all the variously colored Yoshies of the vicinity stopped minding their fruits, their practicing, and their games so they could hurry on over to see what the buzz was about. "LISTEN UP!" Pish said as soon as they had all arrived. "I, the, uh, Powerful Pish, am about to engage this guy here," he motioned towards the feathery one, "the Rambunctious Razule, in a race to the finish!"

"Ohhh, boy, this is gonna be GREAT!!" Razule squealed in anticipation.

"The first to get from this spot, here," Pish said, pointing to where he was standing, which was the beginning of four long, rectangular rows arranged into the grass, "all the way to the goal, over there," he said, pointing to where this stretch of quadrilateral shapes ended, which was a few tufts of grass shaped like the word, "GOAL," "will be the winner!" he finished. The crowd surrounding this set of lines began to murmur excitedly as Pish and Razule began to stretch themselves.

Oshi looked at Pinky. "My money's on Pish. How about you?"

"Hmm, I dunno. The new guy's looking pretty promising," he said.

Razule was spinning around on one foot like some deranged ballerina.

"Eh. If you say so," Oshi said.

"On your mark..." Pish said once he and his opponent were crouched down. "Get set..." The crowd watched the two contestants, waiting eagerly. "GO!!!" In a flash, the race was on. The crowd cheered obnoxiously as they kept their eyes on this competition.

"COME ON, PISH!!"

"YOU CAN DO IT, PISH!!"

"RUN, RAZULE, RUN!!"

They all hopped up and down vigorously as they vocally encouraged the ones they had placed their bets on. The spectacle was quite rejuvenating for them to watch. Two of these spectators were Rachi and Azure, the red one and the light blue one.

"Azure," said the red one, "what's with that pink thing sticking out of the ground near the goal?"

Azure looked at what he was talking about. It was pink and round, but otherwise unclear what it could be. Noone else seemed to notice it as the race dragged on. Azure looked at his friend and shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmm..." Rachi hummed.

Pish waved to the ones faithful to him as he kept his legs pumping like mad. _I can't let them down!_ he thought optimistically.

"One, two, wear a shoe, three, four, wild boar, five, six..."

_What the?!_ Pish thought, disbelievingly. That black thing was surprisingly fast for something that moved by shuffling from point A to point B. It zoomed right past him and soon had the upper hand. _Dang it. This guy isn't slow at all! I'd better kick it up a notch..._ Pish whipped out a Yoshi Cookie, flipped it into the air, and snatched it with his long tongue in the blink of an eye. After swallowing, he soon found his legs moving way faster than usual. The crowd started yelling even crazier. _Alright! Time to win the race!_

He zoomed his way forward a few feet, feeling a jolt of premature triumph squeeze him. Getting caught up in the moment, he started running even faster, not noticing that the cookie's effects were beginning to wear off. He was getting closer to Razule. Closer, and closer. There! He passed him. Pish clenched his eyes shut with a grin smearing its way across his face. It vanished as soon as he started hearing some wicked shuffling sounds beside him. He jolted his head to the right as he saw that his opponent was catching up at an alarming rate.

"No, no, no, NO!!" Razule babbled.

Pish's jaw dropped as he saw this stranger zip right past him. He scrunched his eyebrows downward, frowning at not knowing how to overcome this. The crowd screamed in pure excitement as Razule neared the goal. It was music to his ears.

_Family... Friends... Fans..._ he thought to himself, deliriously. _It's just what I've always wanted..._

Pish was flustered. He tried forcing his burning legs into going faster, but then...

SPPRROOOINNGG!!

"NOT AGGAAAAiiiiiinnnnn!..."

Just when Razule was within inches of the goal, that pink thing that Rachi and Azure were talking about had suddenly exploded out of the ground and sent the little weirdo flying way off into the distance. Everyone, including the crowd and Pish, shut up for a moment to alternate a little between looking at what had sprung out of the ground and what had been sent soaring.

_What in..._ Pish wondered as he stood there, looking at it. Then he remembered something. _Oh, right..._ He won everyone's attention back as he suddenly turned back around, ran quickly, and heaved his way onto the goal. "FINISH!!" he shouted. The crowd cheered. The race was over.

"Ah, man..." Pinky moped.

"See, I knew Pish had it in him," Oshi boasted.

Parts of the crowd flocked to Pish, other parts walked away with their heads hung, and a few others meandered up to the obstacle that had ruined Razule's big chance. Two of the ones interested in it included Rachi and Azure. Being closer to it, they could see that this thing was a flower. More specifically, it was a big, pink, rubber ball surrounded by very strange petals growing out of it. Although they each looked more like overgrown fly wings, complete with the fact that this ball was coming out of a stem of green with more normal-looking leaves attached to it, this thing still looked enough like a flower to be considered one.

"What is it?"

"Some type of flower?"

"It's unlike any flower I've ever seen..."

Among these confused Yo'sters, only Rachi was the one that could do something besides stand around wondering about it. He got closer to it, knelt down and placed his hands around its stem. As a result, he started getting some pretty befuddled remarks asking him what he was doing.

"I'm going to examine it," he told them. "I just might be able to figure this one out..." He plucked the thing, roots and all, straight from the ground. Giving the audience something a little different to talk about, he turned around and began to walk away. "Come on, Azure..." he said to his light blue friend. Azure nodded and started following...

A group of fans was carrying Pish off, letting him use their upraised hands as a throne of victory. _I did it! I did it! I won the cook-_ He stopped himself in mid-thought. _Oh, wait; no, I didn't..._ He sat on the Yoshi hands, being carried off to wherever with a dumb look on his face for a few seconds. _Oh, well..._ He shrugged his shoulders and enjoyed the ride. At least he did until...

BONK! A coconut got him right in the nose. He rubbed where it was hit and looked around.

"SORRY!" he heard a voice call. He sighed and let the ride continue...

Rachi was gone, Azure was gone, and Pish was gone, as was the whole crowd. People started going back to their businesses. So were Pinky and Oshi.

"Wellp," said Pinky, "I guess it's back to guarding Xoshi's house then!"

"I guess so..." agreed Oshi. With nothing else to do, the two went on with letting the day be just another one...

* * *

Jeila walked through the backdoor of that botanical hut again. Sitting Indian-style in the center of it was her father, the Yoshi Priest. With his eyes closed, and his lips making a weird noise, he had himself once again meditating.

"O-woh. O-woh. O-woh. O-woh..." he chanted. Jeila took note of his eccentric activity, smiled, and wandered a little further into the room. With other things on her mind, she took a step, and (TRIP!) her foot caught against something, causing her to fall forward on her face.

"OOF!!" she grunted. The noise awoke her father with a start.

"Hm, rr, humph? Oh, hello, Jeila, sweetie. You interrupted my meditating. Oh, why does this always happen? I'll never learn to float at this rate," he grumped. The two familymembers got up off the floor and dusted themselves off.

"Sorry, Papa," she apologized.

"Oh, don't worry about it, sweetheart," her father said. "There was a race today. They say they discovered some new kind of flower once it was over."

"Really," Jeila said. She bent down and picked up what it was she just tripped over. It was a jar. Its inner space was taken up by some guts that was colored like a carrot, but came in a darker hue. "Papa," she asked. "What was the dark orange guts doing on the floor?"

"I haven't the foggiest, Jeila. All I know is that some of it was stolen when that burlgar with the voodoo doll came by," her father responded.

Jeila put it back on one of their shelves. "What would someone want a healing ailment for?" she wondered. "And why would they just up and leave that poppet behind?"

The parent held his arms out to represent that he had no answer to her questions. He tried satisfying her needs regardless. "Maybe they were going to use it in a potion, or something," he suggested. "Maybe, like Xoshi, they had that doll on them for safe-keeping, and they dropped it on accident once they saw you walk into the room like you said."

"Maybe," she said. That part of the discussion was over, so Jeila changed the subject. "Guess what, Papa?"

"What, sweetie?" he played along.

"The Super-Happy Tree told me that me and Xoshi were meant for eachother!" She jumped into the air happily.

"It did? Well, I'm not surprised! You two are so much alike! You're both religeous, you always plan ahead, and you both have a lot of potential!" he listed.

"Awww," Jeila said modestly. She put one foot behind the other with her arms folded behind her to express her emotion. The elder walked towards the backdoor.

"Well, you take care, Jeila, darling. Right now, I have to pay my own respects to the Super-Happy Tree."

"Okay. Bye, Papa," she said, waving to him.

"Bye!" said the devoted man. With that, he was out the door, walking down the pathway to the island's treasured tree. Jeila turned her gaze away from her old man and got her thoughts on other things.

_Xoshi,_ she thought, _once you get back from your vacation..._ She paused and let a dreamy smile flow over her face. _I'm going to ask you out..._


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**  
_"...Because of that, my mother died.__  
__The right to live, she was denied.__  
__I didn't think I could feel worse.__  
__Tuberculosis is a terrible curse."_

"My goodness..." Dr. Kamenstein said slowly. He took a sip of his coffee just as hesitantly. "That's terrible. It's everything compared to how I lost my helmet on the way over here, that's for sure," he sympathized.

The man he was sitting at a table across from waved his hand sloppily and shook his head.

_"I thank you for your sympathy,__  
__But no more sorrowful tales from me.__  
__Come, my friend, share your past.__  
__Let your anguish come out at last."_

With that, he carried the conversation forward. He was a thin man donned in an old-fashioned, black jacket that came with a droopy bowtie. His short, thick, black, frilly, greasy hair was no more lifting. He let it sweep to the left side on top, but the rest just kind of curled out. He had a broad forehead, sagging eyebrows, and a little, black mustache. The two of him and his town's savior were in the man's very own store where he would sell books of his poetry and stories. This was Christopher Ice, husband of Marilyn Ice, and father of Tessa and William Ice. He was having a much better afternoon then than he was in the cell, and was spending it with the Madscikoopa for the time being.

"So, you'd like to hear one of my sad stories?" the mad scientist asked. Christopher nodded. "Alright," Dr. Kamenstein sighed. He strummed his fingers against the table's surface, sipped some more coffee, and came up with one. "I was a teenager," he started. "We got to go on a field trip to Mario Land..."

* * *

Gorroh, Helga, Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and that one green Koopa Troopa were taking down the tents they had spent the night in so they could journey onward through the strange, but very interesting Clattagin Woods. Once they had their things all packed up and ready to go, they had themselves arranged in a line of six people about to head off. Gorroh spoke up.

"Is everyone ready? Kamek, do you have the item?" he asked.

"Yes, Sire. You needn't worry yourself of such things," the competent Magikoopa replied.

"Alright, then," Gorroh said. "Let's go..." After his command, the six-some at last got their feet going. They journeyed deeper into the colorful Clattagin Woods...

* * *

Amos Milo Kamenstein (AKA Dr. Kamenstein) had done it again. He had gotten himself entangled in his previous experiences once more. He found himself reliving days that had already gone by. This time, he was going through the moment that had come after the dinner with his parents, the wait for the bus, the ride on the airplane, and the beginning of the appearance at Mario Land. He remembered how two, young, female tour-guides led the way. They kicked off the rite of walking and talking by giving each of the members of the group some complimentary carrots, which were special since they were a kind that could make the eaters sprout magical bunny ears for a little while, and could only be found in such a country. The girls then took them to a place near the big house of Mac Rozone. There, they got to see a burned-down building, a fully-operational building, and a homeless Goomba who was blamed for the arson. He was the creator and owner of the stupid sign that read, "Vil verc vor vud". It was quite an intriguing stop they made.

Their next stop was the mayor's home. It was particularily bigger than the others. Dr. Kamentein recalled how it was even bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It was a multi-roomed structure which had much to boast of like a white house. The guides took them everywhere from the commons area, the hall of paintings, and the gift shop. In time, the group was led to the house's grand cafeteria. It was more of a diner, if anything. There were boothes, tables, menus, gorgeous waitresses on roller skates, a snack bar, and even a stage, for some reason. Amos and Mad were once again together. They were seated across from eachother, with Birdo and Lazy Kong taking up the window seats next to them, respectively. Amos and Mad were engaged in an intelligent conversation with eachother.

"...But I can't quite get the octensatious redunction square-root going. No matter how I calculate it, it always comes down to the same thing: B2-93," Mad was saying.

"I once had that problem; not even my TI-2001 could handle it!! Did you know it even has a parrot key??"

"A parakeet??"

"No, no, a parrot KEY. It's supposed to activate the X, Y, Z coordinates of the circumeter axis. Quite a time-saver..."

"Geez, no wonder that guy's always asleep!!" Birdo said out of nowhere in that echoic voice of hers, as usual. "He's always around you guys always... Moon-man-talking to eachother!!"

"'Moon-man-talking' is not a properly punctuated term."

"It's actually because he's got too much melatonin coursing through him, hence resulting in the overdose of unconscious activity," they responded.

Even though those last few sentences was semi-comprehensible, Birdo let out a disgruntled sigh anyway and put one claw up to hold her temple and balance against the booth's table.

"More bananas... Please... zzz..." Lazy was mumbling. Luckily, that was when their waitress strolled on over to deliver unto them the four plates of food they ordered.

"Here's your Garlic Stroganoff, your Carrot Platter, your Egg Salad, and your Bananna Split, with extra Sleep Potion," she said, handing each of them to their respective persons.

It took a second, but that was when they each said, "Well done", "Much obliged", "Thank you", and "Just a trim, if you will". As soon as the waitress was gone, they dug in.

"Two things," Amos was saying. "One: I haven't had the opportunity to consume some garlic stroganoff in years. Two: That would explain why Lazy Kong is incessantly lazy."

"Indeed, it would," finished Mad. They ate their meals for a little while longer, when suddenly...

WHAM!! The lights shut off. Naturally, a few people screamed, yet the cafe's employees remained calm.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice screeched out of nowhere. It was semi-high-pitched, a little scratchy, but intelligent. "Kneel before your masters..." Suddenly, DOOSH! The spotlights were on and the stage was alight. There, upon, was a team of five. The Jester was the one that got to do vocals. The one with the cone-shaped hat was the one with the horn around his neck. The one who had a long red nose and a pair of pants striped blue and white got the electric guitar (somehow). The one that had a round red nose and spikes all over had the keyboard. The biggest of them all, the freakishly gimongous clown (half red, half blue), was the one who spoke. He was doing the drums. "We give you... The Evil Clowns!!"

At that point, the group was doing a frenzy of ridiculous pantomiming gestures (remixed with a heavy metal type feel), and eveyone else in the room for dining was more than calmed down. They were excited.

"'Evil Clowns'?!" Amos said. "Whatever happened to I.C.-"

"Shush. They're starting up," Mad said to him.

Rudy held up his pair of drumsticks to start the band. He banged them against eachother, swiftly, in a certain rhythm. One... Two... One, two, One-two-three-four-

-Joovada-JOOT-ja-joova, joovada-JOOT-ja-joova, joova-da-DOO, joova-da-DOOT-doo; Joovada-JOOT-ja-joova, joovada-JOOT-ja-joova, joova-da-DOO, joova-da-DOOT-doo...

Their "grooving" song began with a bang. Their fans were cheering. The Jester began to sing in that deep, vampire-like, yet charismatic voice of his...

_A dark past crosses my mind.__  
__A history where none were kind.__  
__It's left me__  
__As this entity__  
__Where forgiveness is confined._

_You can't away,__  
__You have to stay__  
__For that-which-has-not-yet-come-to-pass._

_I have plans up my sleeve.__  
__The existences of them will leave.__  
__They will go__  
__Leaving red to flow.__  
__My version of a "Painter Steve"._

_Find, they will,__  
__Hard, it is to kill__  
__The "green dwarf" they said was their peeve (they can't believe)..._

_You can't bend me!__  
__You can't break me!__  
__My will, it is as hard as steel.__  
__You can thank me;__  
__You just shaped me!__  
__It's your own blades that you will feel!_

_Yeah!_

_I know when you're not awake.__  
__I know when your sleep is fake.__  
__You can't touch me,__  
__What a tragedy.__  
__You're the one whose life's at stake._

_You will pay__  
__For your wrong way.__  
__Your make-shift pov will break like glass (you waste of mass)..._

_You can't bend me!__  
__You can't break me!__  
__My will, it is as hard as steel.__  
__You can thank me;__  
__You just shaped me!__  
__It's your own blades that you will feel!_

_You can't bend me!__  
__You can't break me!__  
__My will, it is as hard as steel.__  
__You can thank me;__  
__You just shaped me!__  
__It's your own blades that you will feel!_

That was when the 100 instrumental portion of the song started up. Amos could eat no longer. He was too mesmerized and layered in goose-bumps to do anything more than listen to its beauty. He semi-yelled to his friend from across. "Though, they weren't quite the band I was expecting, I love this song!!"

"I know!!" Mad said. Then the climax to the song ensued...

_Why in the world did they give you life?__  
__The only thing you've caused is strife!__  
__You're a plague to me, a blasphemy,__  
__So much and yet so little that I can't think!_

The refrain returned, once more...

_You can't bend me!__  
__You can't break me!__  
__My will, it is as hard as steel.__  
__You can thank me;__  
__You just shaped me!__  
__It's your own blades that you will feel!_

_You can't bend me!__  
__You can't break me!__  
__My will, it is as hard as steel.__  
__You can thank me;__  
__You just shaped me!__  
__It's your own blades that you will feel!_

The Jester dragged out the "feel" part longer than he did the other times, as it was part of the song. The music was dying down leaving him to repeat it once more softly. Finally, it was over...

The audience erupted in applause and screaming. The group did their pantomime thing a few times as though they were bowing to them simultaneously for a certain number. Rudy spoke up again. "Thank you!" They were still cheering. He tried again. "Thank you!" That got them a little. "That was 'Your Own Blades'! Thank you... And good night!!" DOOSH! The lights were off once more. The panicking that arose was less hectic that time. Soon, they were back on again. WHAM!!

"My goodness," Amos said, while taking his glasses off to give them a quick polish. "That was very exhilarating." He put them back on.

"Indubitably, it was," said Mad.

"Ugh... Did I miss anything?" Lazy Kong mumbled...

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO."

"Are we there yet?"

Kamek got fed up with Bowser's incessant whining. "NO, YOU LITTLE CORRODED PILE OF-"

"-KAMEK!!!" Helga shrieked. Her, the two arguers, and the other three members of the group stopped in their tracks. "Don't you dare take that tone of voice with my son, you hear me?! He's sweeter, kinder, and way gentler than you'll ever be!!"

"No, he isn't, dear. Bowser, don't take that from the Magikoopa! Beat him up!" Gorroh encouraged.

"You gonna get it now, stupid-face!!" Bowser taunted. He breathed in deeply, letting his chest inflate outwards.

"Oh, for the love of..." Kamek grumbled, reaching for his wand.

Their little green servant just stood back, watching the scene uncomfortably. "Uhh... Guys?" he said.

"Dear!!" Helga blurted, turning to her husband. "What are you thinking?! Bowser's still healing! What if he gets hurt some more?"

"Stop overreacting, Helga. If you would just-" Gorroh tried presenting his retaliation against her statement, but his sentence was cut off.

"INCOMING!!" Arris shouted. He dove to the ground, and the other five members of the group turned their heads towards the direction that they were just walking in a second ago. They saw it: It was a ridiculously huge boomerang whirling their way. Stopping the fight and everything, they each followed Arris' example and hit the deck. WHOOSH! It went sailing over their heads. The wind it created not only ruffled up the hairs on the heads of Gorroh, Helga, and Bowser, but it also made Kamek's hat fall off. Getting it off the ground was something he tried doing while the others were starting to get up.

"What was-" Helga said.

"-IT'S COMING BACK!!" Arris cried out again. For the second time, the group ducked and the big boomerang went WHOOSH back over their heads. Kamek got his hat, and the clique of six was able to stand again.

"What was that??" Helga asked.

"The Bangarang Bros.," Gorroh answered.

Helga looked confused. She fixed her gaze on him. "The Bangarang Bros.??" she repeated.

"Yes, the Bangarang Bros." Gorroh folded his arms. "They're the guards of our backup fortress."

The muddled Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and the servant were twisting their heads about cautiously while Gorroh and Helga were having this discussion. "Well, if they're our guards," Helga began, "then what are they attacking us for? What did we do to them?"

Gorroh laughed and coughed at the same time as a slightly nervous gesture. "They're, erm, not exactly OUR guards, dear."

"WHAT?!" Helga belted out, throwing her arms down, making her head jolt.

"That's why..." Gorroh started.

"DUCK!!" Arris yelled.

As though on command, the devious band did just that. They plopped to the ground, and Gorroh loudly stated the rest of his answer. "...WE BROUGHT A LITTLE SOMETHING!" Kamek knew exactly what he was talking about. WHOOSH! The boomerang went over their heads again.

"STAY DOWN!!" Arris ordered. They all obeyed that, too. WHOOSH! The boomerang came back.

When they got up again, Gorroh addressed their royal vizier. "Kamek, now's your chance. Go and bring those goons to their knees!"

"Yes, Sire!" Kamek replied. The sorceror ran ahead, leaving the rest of his partymembers behind.

As they watched him go, Helga had to voice another wondering. "Gorroh," she asked, "what did you give him?"

Gorroh made a big, toothy grin. "Their greatest weakness," he responded.

Kamek ran at a relatively quick pace. To his left and his right, the various pastel colors of the weird forest flew past him like a collection of paint-filled explosions. The closer his feet brought him to his enemies, the more he could see something coming into focus on the horizon. Two yellow figures were standing before an enormous structure. A few more leg movements later and he could see that these figures were a pair of Boomerang Bros., but with tremendous heights, powerful muscles, and gigantic boomerangs. Behind them was most likely the building they had been questing for. Not having his mind on that, he took note of the duo of adversaries readying both of their weapons at once this time. Thinking quickly, he reached into the folds of his cloak, and pulled out the special item. It was block-shaped, had a yellow roof, a white body, and a curly, black symbol on the front with a connection to symphonies. He grabbed a hold of the handle coming out of one side of it and began turning. He dropped to the ground, clutching the device. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Lucky for him, those humungous boomerangs weren't able to hit him. He got up off the ground and continued running and turning. The contraption was letting loose a soothing melody. Kamek started getting confused. He had to alternate between looking at this thing his hands were minding, looking at the Bangarang Bros., and looking behind him in order to make sure no projectiles were headed his way. This served him well, no matter how daunting the task was. Not wanting to ruin the fact that he had not yet been injured, he saw what was coming, and flopped down again, clutching the object like before. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! Another double-dose of pain had been narrowly avoided. He got off the ground, resumed the movement with his hands, his feet, and the tune, and TRIP!

"AGH!!" Kamek grunted. His foot stumbled over an inconveniently located rock of paint sticking out of the ground, and he released his hold of his enemies' weakness. It went soaring through the air while he was falling flat on his face. "OOF!!" While he was on the ground again, he considered getting back up, but immediately declined the suggestion once he saw through his thick glasses that the guards had fired their instruments of battle again. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! His skin was still safe. WHACK! That didn't sound pleasant to Kamek. He got up and looked behind him. Not only were the boomerangs flying away, so was the weakness of the people who were using them. "BLAST IT!" Kamek growled. He unsheathed his wand. "Time for Plan B," he said darkly.

Gorroh, Helga, Bowser, Arris, and the other guy saw a mostly white object whiz over their heads. "That's not a good sign," Gorroh said quietly.

"DUCK!!" Arris ordered again. They did so.

Kamek started running harder towards his prey. As this was going on, the red jewel of his wand started to glow brighter. He had his thoughts focused fiercely on casting something that could make these guys sorry for attacking. His mind was so set on this, it didn't even occur to him to look the other way. The huge implements of the dangerous duo was whirling straight for him on a collision course towards his back. Kamek didn't know this. He concentrated more. Then something got his mind off the incantation. He saw two green figures suddenly materialize before the Bangarang Bros. Just as suddenly, his back became safe. He didn't know this, either. He kept running, trying to get his spell back on track. Then...

"...WAIT! KAMEK!!" he heard Gorroh's voice call to him. Kamek skidded to a halt and let his spell evaporate along with the wand's glow. He turned around and saw the other five running up to him. He could also see that they were being accompanied by two more of the green figures just like the ones that had materialized earlier. They were floating through the air, carrying those big boomerangs that could have seriously damaged him. They caught up with him and slowed to a stop. At last, Gorroh could explain things. "You don't have to fight them. Clat called them back!"

Kamek blinked. "Clat, Sire?" he asked.

"Yes, Clat. A friend of mine. These woods are named after him." The two green things that were carrying the oversized weapons hovered closer with the group in between them.

"Clat," said the one to Kamek's right in an obnoxious voice.

"Clat Monet," said the other one in the exact same voice. Getting a better view of them, Kamek could see that these things were vaguely humanoid. They had pale, green skin that seemed to glow, hunched shoulders, long arms, and four horn-like shapes growing out of their heads. Because of this glow, Kamek couldn't make out many other features of the creatures. However, he could tell their droopy, light-giving eyes were yellow and that they floated through the air with ghostly tails.

"But please..." Kamek heard the same voice behind him. He turned around and could see that the Bangarang Bros. had relaxed and the two green ghouls that calmed them earlier were floating towards the group. The two with the boomerangs were floating away from it. They returned the weapons to their rightful owners.

"Call me Lord Doppel," said the one next to the one that just spoke.

"Or just Doppel," said the one beside it again.

"Either one, really," said the one next to it again.

Kamek's head was spinning. It showed. Gorroh looked at him and made another grin. "Confused, aren't you?" he pointed out. He started making gestures towards the odd quartet of look-alikes. "He's Doppel, he's Doppel, he's Doppel..." he went on. "They're all Doppel! He's got the ability to make copies of himself."

"It comes in handy," the four of them said at once. Kamek was even more confused. At that point, the strange four-some was floating directly in front of the group of six. They remained in the exact same position as they floated towards eachother. They faded into one another it seemed. Once this dubious occurance was over, Kamek could only see one Doppel. He had to rub his fists into his eyes after seeing something so strange.

"But seriously, everyone," the single Doppel said, "you didn't need to use that silly music box to put my Bangarang Bros. to sleep! I know it's the only way to get past them, but seriously. We're friends, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are," Gorroh agreed.

Kamek got to have a good look at what the guards were protecting. It looked vaguely like a house, but it was way bigger and had a lot more windows. It was an extremely expensive-looking mansion with an exterior that was green for the most part. This was where Doppel lived.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Doppel said. "Let's go on inside. We can have a cup of tea..."

"Yes, let's," Gorroh concurred.

"Well, come on, then!" Doppel insisted. He turned around and floated between the guards that were standing on either side of a small, stone staircase. He went up the stairs leading to the architecture's large front doors. Then he floated right through them as though they weren't even there.

Helga looked at Gorroh and raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" he asked. "Let's just go in already..."

With nothing else to do, Gorroh, Helga, Bowser, Kamek, Arris, and the Koopa Troopa could reach an agreement. They went past the guards, up the stairs, and arrived before the doors. Pretty soon, they were inside. At last, they were under the roof of their backup fortress. A backup fortress that didn't necessarily belong to them. It belonged to this strange individual, partially known as Clat Monet. Hence it was the building partially known as Monet's Mansion...

* * *

A certain mad scientist was still skipping through Memory Lane. With the one about the vengeful song out of the way, he could carry on with this activity of past happenings.

Dr. Kamenstein skipped ahead yet again. That time, they were in the middle of the "Hall of Has-beens". Their group's tour had been interrupted by some senator, or something.

"...And so I was saying, 'how can I "get on the bus", if I don't know where I'm going to?' Well, he told me, 'Son, when the times are getting the tough, the tough gotta get times.' They were the wisest words I ever heard in my entire life. Years later, I thought of the economy while watching the paint dry. I said to myself, 'Self?' And I responded, 'Yes?' 'What can I do to make this country a better place?' But then I remembered Waldo Zwoods' wise words..."

Lazy Kong, as usual, was way ahead of everybody else. Eventually, Amos's level of tolerance had run out, and so he said to Mad, "Neeeyyucchh. I'll meet you outside; I need some fresh air."

Mad simply gave him a proximate nod as a person would do to subtly hint that he understood in such a way as not to catch the attention of anyone else that could have thought this suspicious. Amos managed to sneak out with noone noticing, let alone caring. Once out there, he noticed how dark it had become. _Had it really been that long?_ he thought to himself. Dr. Kamenstein remembered how he took the possibility of it being two-in-the-morning into consideration. He couldn't help but notice the band over there, talking amongst themselves within reach of their Clown Copter, only that time there were seven of them, and not just five. With each step he hesitantly took towards them, he could make out the detail of the new two.

He remembered laying eyes on the Evil Clowns, Taffy Kong and Har-Harlequin, for the first time. For a moment as he remembered this, he wondered where they had run off to. It didn't seem to matter, so he began his skipping some more...

* * *

The six people that Clat Monet/Lord Doppel had just invited in were in a vast room of his filled with all kinds of things. Furniture with white sheets tossed over them, bottles of paint, cans of paintbrushes, sinks, smocks, newspapers, paper towels, statues, chisels, white powder, rags... If it had anything remotely close to do with art, this place had it. In fact: While Doppel was keeping one duplicate of himself at a table with the guests, one of him was painting a picture of another one of him in a dramatic pose, another was carving a statue of two others, and at least three more were moving in and out of the room, carrying various paintings and other masterpieces along with them, putting them wherever. While this was going on, all seven of that one Doppel and his visitors were drinking tea with eachother. That very Doppel clinked his cup down into the saucer at some point.

"So, let's review," he began. "You and Helga," he said, pointing to Gorroh and his wife, "were enjoying some nice time off..."

"That's right," Gorroh agreed.

"...When suddenly Kamek, here, comes," he gestured towards the mage, sitting to his left, "and tells you that something TERRIBLE has happened. He tells you that a couple of babies have attacked you, or at least they're going to, unless you do something about it. They ruined your castle, and so you," he said, referring to Arris, "take them here," he summarized.

"That's... Technically it," Kamek said, fidgeting with his cup of tea.

"Quite right," said Arris.

"Not only that, but you've also had some kind of premonition that a couple of apes are also going to ruin you, is that right?" said Doppel to Kamek again.

"Yes," Kamek answered.

"And once little Bowser, here," he said, moving his arm towards the tyke, "is all rested up and completely boo-boo-free, you're going to take him to go and capture those two babies and those two apes?" he said to Kamek.

"Yes," said Kamek.

"AND..." he included, wrapping it up, "there's... some kind of... sweepstakes going on?" he said to the only one he hadn't referred to yet.

"Yes," said the troopa, timidly.

"A-HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!" Doppel guffawed, tossing his head back. The others kind of gave him a set of weird looks. "Oh, I haven't heard a story like that in years," he said, wiping a tear from his glowing eye. "Oh, but seriously," he added, "I have total faith in this mission of yours against Mario Land and Donkey Kong Island." He said this while reaching his left arm out and using it to pat Kamek on the right shoulder.

Kamek looked at the ghostly hand, uncomfortably. "Thank you," he said, still a bit freaked out by this new person. "Let's just hope it all ends in triumph," he said. He took another sip of his tea.

Doppel removed his hand. "Well, whatever the case," he announced, placing his hands together, "I'm with you all the way. I promise I'll do anything I can to-" He stopped there. He suddenly clutched at his gut, and started groaning. His other selves wer doing the exact same thing. His guests started staring worriedly.

"Doppel! Are you alright?" Gorroh said, putting his tea down.

It took a few seconds, but at last the specter was able to get a hold of himself, as were the other Doppels. He looked up and slowly removed his hands from his stomach, trying to get a few breathes in. "Yes," he panted. "I'm fine. Just a little air-sick is all," he said.

"Oh, is that- Wait, air-sick?! But, Doppel, we're-"

Doppel cut him off. "-I'm alright now, really. Thanks for your concern." He grabbed his cup of tea and took a big gulp from it. "As I was saying, I promise I'll do anything I can to help," he finally got out.

Gorroh remained staring at him a few more seconds. Then he managed to rekindle his trust in his old buddy and commenced actually giving the apparition an answer. "Thank you, Doppel," he said. "You're a true friend."

"Ahh," Doppel responded. He took another sip of his tea. "What else are friends for, anyway?..."

* * *

_"So those Evil Clowns, the ones you fell,__  
__You had an encounter with them as well?"_

Dr. Kamenstein nodded at Christopher's comment. "Yes, that is the case," he said. He drank some more from his cup of coffee.

_"Well, I certainly hope those miscreants__  
__Are never again to sing or dance."_

"I hope so, too," said the doctor.

_"I also hope they'll always miss__  
__The chance to get their so-called mistriss."_

"Yes, that, too," Kamenstein concurred, drinking some more.

_"Yes, indeed, but one another thing:__  
__I'd like my wife and children back under my wing."_

Dr. Kamenstein heard the request and nodded. "Don't worry, Mr. Ice," he reassured. "I'll have your wife and kids back to you in no time," he promised. The scientific man finished the rest of his coffee, got out of his seat, stood up, and pushed the chair in. The doctor took a bow. "Sir, I thank you dearly for letting me stay here for the time being," he said.

Christopher waved a hand.

_"You're our savior, so tried and true.__  
__Letting you stay is the least I can do."_

"Yes," Dr. Kamenstein said thankfully. He took a glance at the door. "Well, Sir, I really must be off now, but I'll be back... with your wife and children."

Christopher gave him a small smile and nodded. Soon after that, the Madscikoopa was out the door and back into his Sky-Pop. With a twist here and a turn there, he was back amidst the clouds. Down below, he noticed how several people outside were looking up, waving, saying good-bye, and giving their thanks. Smiling and looking back, he returned a wave. His trip to Gana Village was a success, but his mission still wasn't over. Drifting through the orange sky of the early evening, he thought to himself.

_Now I can see,_ he was thinking, _just how well a job that Storko did of taking care of everything..._


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**  
Naji found himself in the ruins of some red temple floating in the sky. Down below was pitch-black, and up above was an endless sea of flames. In spite of how unsettling this place was, he had to keep his thoughts on the goal. He looked from broken pillar to broken pillar. No sign of him in sight. _Come on,_ he thought. _Show yourself. I dare you..._

He was beginning to ascend one of the wide, decaying flights of stairs. Looking around further, he ended up letting his guard down. GRRRUUUUUU!!! "AAAAUUUGGGHHH!!" Naji screamed. A tidal wave of pure darkness had snuck up from behind him and all of its blades bit him like a pack of angry wolves. It made the sound of a thousand demons howling in anguish. His father had just performed a shadow-elemental attack on him, and it dealt some pretty heavy damage. Once the blackness flew away, Naji let out a groan and collapsed on the ground. His red-skinned father strut up to him.

"Come on, Naji," his father scolded. "Can't you do better than that?" Naji groaned some more as he lay down, sprawled across the stone floor. His father lifted a foot and gave him a good kick in the side. He jolted at the blow.

"UGH!!" Naji grunted. This hurt especially badly since his father wasn't wearing any shoes, hence allowing three long, hard claws to harm him.

"Get up, Naji," the parent growled. "Show me what you got!!"

Not wanting anymore of his father's patronizing, Naji finally forced himself into summoning up what guts he still had in him, doing his best to amplify it, and using it to pry himself off the ground. Perspiring and grunting all the while, he was able to do it. He shook his head and scowled at his father. The red Yo'ster made a beckoning movement with one hand. Naji took a step back, brought his hands to one side of him, clasped them around eachother, and started to make them glow in a fashion not unlike what his father was doing earlier. As they started getting brighter, the symbol of a white sun once again showed up before him. Once the spell was ready, he took a step forward, heaved his palms outward and let a beam of light explode from them. CHING! It bounced somewhere right off of his father's body and the spell went soaring into the incinerating sky. Naji was dumbfounded. His father put a steaming hand down.

"Still not good enough, Naji," his father criticized. He spread his legs out, put both hands behind his back, and closed his eyes. Naji clenched his fists, expecting the worst. His father made a flame symbol appear, and he threw his hands out. FFOOOOOOMMM!!

"AAUURRRGGHH!!" Naji wailed. He sent his arms up to block his face, but that didn't stop his body from taking the attack head-on. Every last inch of him was ablaze in agony. Then the spell was gone and Naji slumped over with his hands clutching at his knees. He started panting.

"Hmph! Still not getting it, eh? Pathetic," his father said. He walked up to the front of his son. "Alright, Naji, listen up: do you know why my attacks are so powerful and yours are so weak?"

Naji panted some more. "Why... Father?" he wheezed.

The father shuffled his bare feet with his arms folded. "It's because of where we are," he said. "This is a holy place, Naji, and I'm absorbing all of its glory through the bottoms of my feet. Do you know what that means, Naji?"

Naji stopped gasping and looked up at the older person. "I must... remove... my shoes?" he suggested.

"Bingo. Get rid of 'em. Then try me without 'em," his father said.

Naji stared at the red man, then nodded. Sure, his shoes worked pretty well in his bout with Cutlass, but he was in a completely different situation now. He decided to heed the unusual instructions. He bent down and slipped off the things. Then without looking over his shoulder, he tossed them behind them, and they went falling into the deep, dark depths. His eyes lit up. The results of this were amazing. He could feel his feet tingling and vibrating with energy. It invigorated him. It gave him the courage and the motivation to fight on. This time, he felt he truly was ready to take on his father. He made a stern look with his face, stepped to the side, and held out a closed hand. The father watched and waited with his eyes squinting and his arms folded as his son went on with this experiment. A wind started blowing around him until a blue teardrop showed up. Then he thrust his fingertips wide open and let a tsunami go plowing right into his father. FWWOOOSSHH!! Millions of waves crashed against him, each of them made of hordes of little stinging droplets, all of them going incredibly fast. Once the assault was over, a look of disbelief sprouted on Naji's face. A good portion of his father's scales had been blown off, leaving the lot of them to be replaced by thinner layers of skin beginning to seep out puddles of his red, Yo'ster blood.

"Heh heh," his father chuckled while trembling a little. "Blades of grass, grains of sand... Even walkways of bricks," his father said, "all of them have something to give, Naji. That is why you must always leave your feet bare," he explained. Naji nodded. He remembered being told something similar to this long ago. This was part of the reason why he dressed the way he did. His father took a step back and made some more fists out of his hands. "NOW LET'S DO THIS!!" he yelled. Naji nodded once more and started work on a spell of his own...

Back in real life, how Naji's eyes were shut tightly and how his mouth was scowling could easily be seen. In fact: he was being watched. A certain individual was taking in the display of the Yoshi's suffering down to the last detail, and enjoying it immensely. He was big, he was purple, and he had an army to build.

"Huh huh huh," the alien captain laughed. His beefy arms were folded and his fanged mouth was grinning. "Imbecile. It's foolish to fight. You might as well give up..."

While pleasuring in another's pain, a similar purple space alien stepped through one of the technologically-advanced doors and into the room. He stood a few feet away from the captain and saluted. "Sir. The repairs are finished, Sir. We're all set and ready to go, Sir."

"Excellent!" the captain said. He turned around and walked past the lesser crewmember. He started following his superior once he reached the door. "Maybe now we can at last get off this godforsaken island..."

The two Extra-Terrestrials left, and Naji was forced to endure the rest of the nightmare...

* * *

"So long, friends! Hope you enjoyed your visit in Jlaka. Y'all come back now, y'hear? Oh, and don't you worry 'bout nothin'. We'll get that hidden slide fixed up in no time!" Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David were before the exit to the underground civilization of the mole people. They were in a cave and could see the orange light just up ahead that they wanted. The person that was telling them good-bye was a mole man with a pig on a leash for some reason which was just standing there sniffing about.

"Yeah, thanks," Snifit said, in an unenthused manner. He took a look at the mole's animal. "Uh, question," he said.

"Yep?" the mole responded.

"What's with the pig?" he asked, pointing to the round specimen.

"Oh, that's just Flossy. I've got 'bout 20 more just like her at home," he explained. "Well, it used to be more like 21, but then these durned witches came along and... Oh, it burns me up," the mole said with a shaking fist all of a sudden.

"Well, uh, we're sorry to hear that. Anyways, we gotta get moving," the overgrown Shy Guy said. "Everyone ready?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," said the slightly altered Snifit.

"I'm ready!" said the mutated Chak, vigorously.

"So am I," said the shrunken David.

"Alrightty then." Shy Guy made a fist out of one hand and pumped its arm in a motivational gesture. "Kariboo Island, here we come!" His partymembers cheered whole-heartedly. At last, their march began. Soon, they were out of Jlaka and into the Jade Jungle. Making it to their destination was just a matter of time...

* * *

The sun was setting. In spite of its beauty, not everyone on Lava Lava Island was enjoying themselves. Yoshi was confused. Everyone was just standing around acting really nervously. Red and pink Yoshies were pacing about, yellow and purple Yoshies were shaking their heads, and blue and orange Yoshies were nibbling on pieces of fruit anxiously. What was going on? What was the meaning of all this? He tried asking some of them about it, but they were all speaking that weird language. It was hopeless. Everything had been ever since that big explosion with all those ghosts and whatnot.

For a few moments more, all this confusion continued. Finally, something vaguely sense-making walked out of the woods and into the wide, grassy opening where all these civilians were gathered. It was that huge bird and that one magenta-colored Yoshi that was trying to communicate with him earlier. The Yo'sters all cheered the enormous Raven on. They kept calling him Raphael. The name rang a bell to Yoshi and so did the image of the being with such a name. The duo walked past the cheering ones and found a place to make themselves comfortable. It was right next to a nice, big tree. Then they started making noises with their mouths.

"Um," said Fyooshi, "are you ready, Raphael?"

The black-feathered one looked confident. "I am, Fyooshi. Soon, my brother will come, and we shall see who is more fit to be the island's ruler."

"Mm-hm," Fyooshi said.

Yoshi didn't understand a word of that. He just kept waiting like the rest of them. Fortunately, people all wait in the same language. As they stood around, the clock ticked. The drops of sweat and the jittering they could all feel was getting to be unbearable. Then finally it seemed the wait was over. Everyone stopped muttering and even breathing once a new person was on the premises. He came from another opening in the woods and was sitting on a throne of bamboo. This throne was being carried by four Yoshies: a maroon one, a goldenrod one, a cerulean one, and a lime-colored one. Ren had come this way and was clearly abusing his power again at that. The quartet set the tyrant down and backed away. For a few seconds, the two Raven brothers had to have another vicious staring contest with eachother. Their glaring carried on, causing the two to have their senses of anger escalate. At last, Ren hopped out of the throne and Raphael left his resting spot.

Everyone was anxious, especially Fyooshi. The only one who wasn't feeling this way was Yoshi. He was still just plain confused. The only thing he could make out was that this was a very serious matter.

Raphael and Ren shuffled up to eachother and glared some more. "So you've come, Ren," said the big one.

"Yeah. I've come," said Ren, snootily. Their eyes were still burning into eachothers' furiously. "So," Ren said, breaking the silence, "shall we?"

Raphael nodded slowly, maintaining his angry facial expression. "Yes, let's."

After that, the two siblings took a few steps back until they were just as far away from eachother as they were from their audience. They stared eachother down, breathing steadily. The crowd around them beheld the spectacle in great uneasiness and anticipation. The unsettling wait resumed. Then the opponents blew up. They started sprinting towards eachother at an incredible rate.

"BOOONNZZAAAAIIII!!" Ren roared.

"HEEAAVVE-HHOOOOO!!" Raphael bellowed.

The crowd opened its eyes wide in shock as they witnessed these two combatants rush eachother. Once they were within proximity of eachother they erupted in a storm of kicks, jumps, ground-pounds, body-slamming, and even pecking. WHAM! BAM! WHACK! BOOM! SLAM! POW! SLAP! Both contenders were giving it all they had. At some point, they leapt back from eachother to take a breather.

"Had enough, Ren?" Raphael panted.

"Pah!! I'm just getting warmed up!!" Ren retorted. Then they flew at eachother once again and the fight continued.

Fyooshi watched the violent display in terror. "Ohh," he worried, "I hope Raphael gets through this okay..."

Yoshi kept his eyes on the quickly-paced fight in confusion. _What in the world is going on??_ he wondered. _Don't I know that guy??_ Both of the Yoshies could only sit back and wait like the rest of them until this unpleasant occurance blew over...

* * *

Xoshi and White Rose walked along a path cutting straight through the extremely hot and baron Dry Dry Desert. As usual, the heat wasn't getting to the wandering knight in the least, but Xoshi was still sweating like a fountain. The game between him and Beel carried on.

_When someone says, "Would you like some wine with that?" you say..._

_..."Yes, please."_

_When someone says, "Here is your wine, Sir," you say..._

_..."Thank you very much."_

_When someone says, "Thank you very much," you say..._

_...Uhh... Ummm..._ Xoshi couldn't remember the phrase for that one. _Uhh..._

_...You say, "You're quite welcome,"_ Beel corrected.

_Oh. Right. "You're quite welcome,"_ Xoshi thought back.

_When someone says, "Would you please pass the butter?" you say..._

_Hey, Beel,_ Xoshi interjected.

_Yes?_ Beel asked.

_How do you say, "It's too stinkin' hot here?"_

_You say-_

"-Say, Sir Xoshi," said White Rose. "From where do you hail?"

_A-hem. When someone says..._ Beel translated White Rose's words and asked Xoshi what to say. However, Xoshi didn't know the answer and when he was told what it was, he was confused.

_"Yoshi's Island"??!"_ Xoshi thought unbelievingly.

_Yes. "Yoshi's Island". It's what people like White Rose here call Yo'ster Isle,_ Beel explained.

_Alright..._ Xoshi thought. He spoke the next part out loud.

"Yoshi's... Island..." he said awkwardly.

"I see," White Rose said. They continued walking beneath the orange sky.

_Normally, when someone asks where you're from, it's polite to ask where he's from as well,_ Beel instructed.

"From where... do YOU hail?" Xoshi tried saying.

At first, White Rose said nothing. Then he just said, "Far away."

Beel translated this and told Xoshi what to say. "I see," Xoshi said.

The two travelers ascended one of the desert's sandy hills. Along the way, White Rose started to say something. "I, uh," he started, "take it your first language isn't necessarily- Look out!!" The knight had to interupt himself. He unsheathed his curvy sword.

"Huh? WHOA!!" Xoshi blurted. Something round, spiky, and yellow was hurtling towards him. He tried ducking. Then CLANG! White Rose sent it flying elsewhere with a blow from his sword.

"Are you alright, Sir Xoshi?" he said.

Beel translated. "Yes, I am," said Xoshi. Xoshi asked Beel how to say the next thing. "What that down there?" he asked. He pointed to a creature that looked like a stack of three of the spiny things he just got saved from earlier. The one on top had a gruesome face on it and three horns on top. It looked angry.

"A Pokey," said the swordsman. "I warned you about them."

"Right," said Xoshi.

White Rose took a step forward. He held his sword in his right hand and he swept his left hand across the air. "You need not meddle in our affairs; step aside!" he ordered.

The Pokey didn't obey. It maintained its enfuriated look and went for another attack. It popped out one of its own segments and struck it with the rest of its body like a bat hitting a baseball. The projectile went spinning straight for the brown Yo'ster. Xoshi's eyes bugged out. White Rose wrapped both of his gloved hands around the hilt of his sword and took a swing just in time. SHLING! The Pokey's body part got chopped perfectly into two juicy halves. The rest of the monster trembled in anger. Its next move was to lean back and sink its head into the sand. Its two enemies watched it do this cautiously.

"It's going to make another one come up," said Xoshi's partner. He got a tighter grip on his weapon. "Get ready," said the man. Xoshi nodded.

The man in white's prediction came true. As soon as it was done leaning back, the Pokey sprang back up and another one just like it popped out of the ground in a few puffs of sand. Now the odds were evened.

"Let's go!!" White Rose commanded. Obeying him, the brown one followed closely behind the man as he started running down the hill towards the enemy. They both chose one Pokey and landed before it. White Rose made a sideways swing at his opponent, the new Pokey, but it swung its self back just in time. Once it came back up, it didn't live to regret doing so. SHLUCK! The knight split it into eight different pieces with an upward swing. One opponent was done for. Looking back, he could see that Xoshi had about just as easy a time. The Pokey tried flinging its last segment at him, but did so in vain. Xoshi dodged it and made his enemy look first frustrated, then panicky. SLURP! Gulp. Pop! Xoshi had swallowed the fiend up and made a nice, big egg out of it covered in green spots. It looked as though victory was theirs. "Be on guard," the swordsman warned, holding his sword up. Xoshi nodded and picked the egg up from behind him, trying his best to expect the unexpected. White Rose was right again. Out of nowhere, ten more Pokeys started swarming. They glided their ways over until they had the duo surrounded. The fiends looked ready for some blood. "NOW!!" White Rose ordered.

Xoshi fired an egg at one of them, causing it to explode into four round, spiky things covered in yolk and eggshell. He ran up to the next one, which tried firing one of its segments at him, but Xoshi licked up its whole body and made another egg out of it before it was too late. Then he went on with the others...

White Rose was too much for the Pokeys to handle. They tried tripping him, they tried swatting him, they tried biting him. With his quick reflexes and his sword, he was able to chop them all up, one by one...

In time, there were only three Pokeys left. However, they didn't look angry; they looked frantic. Xoshi and White Rose were both poised and ready, but then the beasts turned around and fled with their tails tucked between their legs.

_I guess that's that,_ thought Xoshi, optimistically.

_Don't think it's over just yet,_ Beel said.

"Don't think it's over just yet," White Rose said

The two fighters stood there in the desert, remaining in their stances with their eyes and heads looking about, ever so alertly. It seemed they had the right idea. Beneath them, the sandy ground began to shake. At first, for the pair, it was just a little vibration, but then it began to escalate. Xoshi was getting a little worried.

"Get back!!" the knight ordered. He turned around and ran back up the hill they were just on. Xoshi followed his example. The further they went up, the less they could feel the trembling. "Wait for it..." Xoshi's companion said. He obeyed that, too.

All they could do was use their patience and watch where they were just standing continue its quivering. Clouds of sand kept scattering from it. Then FWWOOOSSHH!! The ground exploded and the two witnesses found themselves craning their heads back to have a good look at what had just erupted from it and turned into an unbelievably towering monster. It was a gigantic, five-segmented Pokey with pink skin. Its face looked particularly more threatening than the others did. If Xoshi and White Rose didn't do something about this monstrosity and quick, then they would surely meet the ends of their lives.

"This is the one, Sir Xoshi," White Rose said, readying his sword. "The Pokey Mommy..." Xoshi looked shocked at first, but then quickly became filled with comprehension. He, too, got himself prepared for the massive battle that was to ensue...

* * *

"This way, guys," said the huge Shy Guy, allowing his three companions to follow him through the thick shrubbery of the wild place.

"GAA!!" Chak complained, after getting slapped in the face by a big, green leaf. "This is worse than that one mud place we went to!"

"I know, I know," David agreed, having just as much trouble trying to push his small body past the tall extensions of grass and ducking from the branches. A little while afterwards, the four-some was finally able to get past that collection of crazy vegetation and into some flatter area of the biome.

"Blech," said the grey Snifit, walking along while plucking various sticks, leaves, and other green things off of him. "Why did that darn spaceship have to crashland here of all places?" he moped.

"Holy Jenkins," said Chak. He grabbed everyone's attention and pointed somewhere with one of his odd three-fingered hands. "What's going on over there?!" Somewhere in the middle of a bunch of trees, they could all see a phalanx of different rainbow colors, all of them before two black figures hopping about crazily and aggresively.

They all seemed to be just as interested in this as Chak was. "I dunno," said Shy Guy. "Let's go find out!"

Together, they ran past some more green, plumy, and bizarre obstacles until they were behind that very wall of various colors that they saw before. Since they were closer at this point, they could see that this wall was a crowd of Yoshies and that they were all watching a tremendous fight going on between what looked like two Ravens: a big one and a little one.

"Now what do you suppose this is all about, then?" Chak wondered. A periwinkle Yoshi right in front of him jerked himself around and gave the warped man an extremely weird look as though the person that just spoke was out of his mind.

"Didn't you hear?! They're fighting to see who will become the new master of the island!! What cave did you just crawl out of?!" the Yoshi explained, exasperatedly.

"Jlaka," the humungous Shy Guy replied. The pissed Yoshi shook his head, turned around, and watched the fight go on...

Ren leaped into the air, spun around, and threw one foot out. Raphael tried jumping back, but it was futile. POW!! His brother let a kick blast him right in the side of the face. Ren landed on the grass and turned around with an arrogant look on his face. "Come on, Brother. Call it quits!"

Raphael glared and spat out a wad of blood. It splattered against the ground, which was all covered in grass already messed up majorly as a result of the fighting. "Never, Ren."

Ren just scoffed. "Fine. Be that way." Ren shuffled forward, jumped into the air, and frontflipped. He was going for a ground-pound against his opponent's cranium. Swiftly, Raphael backflipped and slammed his feet right against his sibling's buttocks. The smaller one went flying through the air and crashed against one of the trees in the gathering. A few splinters later, Ren fell to the ground, leaving a mark against the wood shaped like him. He plopped onto the grass with a THUD.

Raphael shuffled over to him while he was busy getting off the ground shaking his head. Once he was directly in front of him again, he said, "This is your last chance, Ren. I advise you: give up now. Step down."

"No way," he growled. "This isn't over yet!!" Ren speedily flipped through the air and head-butted his brother right in the gut. WHAM!!

"OOF!!" Raphael jolted back and got the wind knocked out of him from the blow. He would have commenced trying to suck it back in, but then Ren took another leap and started kicking him repeatedly in the face. POW! POW! POW! Raphael was getting pummeled. Finally, he got sick of it, back-flipped, kicked Ren in the face, sent the bird sprawling, and pounded the ground. THOOM!! The shockwave made Ren flop a little, but it still wasn't enough to render the fowl defeated. Both birds were still standing. "Very well then," Raphael growled. "If you won't give up, then neither will I..." With those words, their rumbling continued...

* * *

Xoshi fired eggs rapidly away at the body of this horrrendously oversized attacker. He fired again, and again, but it was useless. All they did was splatter against its spiked exterior. Pretty soon, he was out of eggs, and his mind was in a slump. Those Pokeys he swallowed had outlived their usefulness, and so did those Dusty Hammers he engulfed a while ago.

_Beel!!_ Xoshi thought desperately. _What do I do against this thing?!_

_Try the Thunder Bolt,_ Beel said.

_Oh. Good idea!!_ Xoshi reached beneath his saddle and pulled out that very item. He threw it into the air, and soon afterwards, a streak of lightning showed up out of nowhere and crashed against one of the enormous being's needle-covered segemnts. It only let a few wisps of steam spill off. Once they were gone, Xoshi could see that that attack was useless as well. _Okay, what now?!_ Xoshi panicked.

_I'm not sure. Ask White Rose,_ the spirit suggested.

"WHITE ROSE!!" Xoshi called. The man was just standing there with his hands closed tightly around his sword, which he held upright before his face. His eyes were closed. Xoshi had no idea what he was doing. "WHITE!! WHAT WE DO AGAINST THIS THING?!" The knight didn't answer. He remained standing with his sword there and his eyes closed. Xoshi was getting frustrated. "WHITE!!" Instead of trying more to get his ally to snap out of it, Xoshi had to have his attention stolen from something else. He looked up and saw that the collossal monster was toppling over. It was going to fall face downward and crush them! Xoshi flipped out. "WHITE!!!" he screamed again. He started running towards the man as the massive shadow being cast over them started growing larger and larger. Xoshi lunged and went into a tackling position. TRIP! White Rose bent one leg out behind him for Xoshi to fall over. He went tumbling a few more feet than he had in mind. "AAUUGGHH!!" Xoshi landed hard against the gritty sand. He quickly turned around and continued fearing for the safety of the swordsman. He wanted to go to him once more, but THHOOOOOOOOMMM!!! The titanic collection of pink spikes came crashing down onto the hill. It seemed like the blow was powerful enough to split the entire desert in half. The gigantic jolt sent Xoshi flipping through the air uncontrollably. He clammered to the sand again. He got up trying to blink out anything that may have gotten into his optical receptors, and started sprinting towards White Rose. Surprisingly, the man was still standing there in that strange position as though nothing just slammed into the vast space right next to him. Upon seeing this, Xoshi began to question who really knew how to save the other's life. He also saw that one of the many long spines covering this thing's pink skin was wobbling. Thinking quickly, he began sprinting harder before the beast could lift itself off the ground and prepare for another blow. He made it just when it started elevating itself. Once he was close enough, Xoshi hopped into the air and slurped that wobbly spike right off of his enemy. He landed, swallowed, and POP! Another egg was his. He first saw the enormous being rising its way up against the fading, evening sky, then he saw White Rose still doing his unusual activity. Then his thoughts went elsewhere.

_Uhhh..._ he contemplated, holding the speckled object in his sweaty hands. _How did Yoshi do this again?!_ He strained his brain in pure desperation, trying incredulously hard to find the vital detail in his memory that was the part when his friend defeated that Koopa Kid with a single egg. Then he nailed it. _Of course!!_ he thought triumphantly. He held the egg in his right hand, positioned it with his right arm, closed one eye for the extra accuracy, and let 'er fly.

The spotted projectile spun through the air, hurtling closer and closer to the center of the monster's hideous face. Xoshi watched without blinking and with his fingers crossed. SPLAT! The egg shattered right where he wanted it to, but not with the results he had in mind. The monster was still unscathed, and ready to flatten its enemies again.

"NOOOO!!" Xoshi wailed. He looked around frantically, thinking that making a run for it truly was the only answer. Then at last his partner started doing something a little different. He opened his eyes. It almost looked like they were glowing...

* * *

Raphael shuffled as fast as he could. Ren was doing the exact same thing. It looked like the two familymembers were about to just ram into eachother head-on. Then Raphael hurled himself through the air, flipped forward, and came crashing down right when he was sure his brother was in the dead center of the space beneath him that he had in mind. THOOM!! He had given the ground another beating. Hopefully, he gave one to his brother as well. He hopped out of the place where he dealt the blow and turned around. He was shocked. There was nothing where he just attacked besides a bunch of smushed grass. Then he heard something sounding behind him.

"BOOONNZZAAAAIIII!!" Raphael turned around quick enough, but didn't dodge quick enough. WHAM!! The huge bird was sidekicked in the stomach. He groaned and fell back, but didn't hit the ground. WHACK!! Just in time, Ren flipped back and kicked his brother right in the beak. Then the little bird shuffled swiftly, leapt through the air and was all over his opponent's face again. POW! POW! POW! POW! POW! POW!! Another frenzy was plastered against Raphael's mug, and the beating didn't end there. At last, Raphael could fall to the ground, sitting down, panting heavily, while feeling the blood ooze out of him in different places. "Want some more?" Ren asked. All he got for an answer was a few wheezes and some coughs. "Thought so." Ren started glowing a crimson color and bulging a vein across his forehead. He jumped up, did a backflip, and slammed harshly into the ground. THOOM!! The shockwave sent Raphael tumbling backwards. He rolled around uncontrollably until he flopped down right in front of Fyooshi. He was one of the many Yo'sters that looked extremely panic-stricken.

"RAPHAEL!!" Fyooshi screamed. He bent down beside the bird's pummeled head and started trying to get the life back in him. "RAPHAEL, COME ON!! WE NEED YOU HERE!! COME ON!!"

While Fyooshi was going on screaming, Ren was slowly advancing towards the fallen one. "Well, well, well," he said, "it looks as though the mighty Raphael has finally bitten off more than he could chew. Does this mean that he WON'T be taking back his position as master of the island? Does this mean that I, the incomparable Ren, WON'T be stepping down?" He stopped his movement once he was right in front of his downed brother. "Does it mean that Lava Lava Island is mine now? Does it mean you came all this way for nothing?" The other Yoshies were switching back and forth between staring at Raphael, worried, and staring at Ren, frightened. Ren went for the big finish. "Does it mean you've GIVEN UP?!?" All the Yo'sters were sweating profusely. Ren started to cackle wildly. "Hee hee hee," he laughed. "Heh heh heh," he went on. "Ha ha ha... Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA HA HA HAA!!"

The citizens of Lava Lava Island were beginning to lose hope, as was a certain humungous bird who had suffered a vicious beating. _I can't lose..._ Raphael thought. _I CAN'T lose. I CAN'T!!_ The islanders were losing their spirits, the sky was getting darker, and Ren's laughter wouldn't cease. Perhaps the times were going to start getting darker from then on as well...

* * *

Xoshi was running as hard as he could down the hill. He was going for the base of this humungous monster in hope that there'd be more loose spikes that he could gobble up. It probably would have had results just like his earlier attempts at taking down the thing did, but he didn't know what else to do. He was dashing with all his might regardless. He didn't even care that the beast was moments away from crushing him. Then his tactics took a dire twist.

"SIR XOSHI!! AWAY!!" he heard White Rose call. Confused, but willing to take a chance, Xoshi immediately took a turn and started heading away from the monster's warpath. He was already out of the thing's line of fire, but he kept running just to be sure. He cocked his head up to see what that knight was doing on the hill.

White Rose was swinging his sword forward rhythmically. Constantly, he would swipe it and let it jolt only a few inches just before where it was previously, and he would bring it back just to do it over and over again. Xoshi could see these weird movements from afar, but he couldn't make out what good it was doing. Once he saw it, though, he skidded to a halt, bunching up the sand around his shoes in the process, and turned around to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. It looked as though with each swing he made with it, White Rose was actually making his sword grow longer! Not only could Xoshi start to see this weapon gleaming in the moonlight, not only could he see that the monster was falling dangerously closer to the guy, but he could also start hearing the sword sing as it went whooshing through the air each time the swordsman swung it. SHING! White Rose swung it and it grew longer. SHHINNGG!! He swung it again. It grew larger, and its noise was louder. SSHHHIINNNGGG!!! It seemed the sword had reached its fullest form. Xoshi's jaw dropped. This blade seemed just as tall as the monster itself.

White Rose let his eyebrows clasp together in a dead serious manner. He looked at the monster with a deadly gaze, and he clenched harder to the sword with more strength than ever. Letting all the power in him surge through his arms, his hips, and his legs to send the weapon skimming through the air, to keep his body turning, and his feet planted firmly onto the ground, he swung the sword against the humungous monster's plummetting body. His sharp instrument sang loudly as it went piercing through the air. Then SSSHHHIIINNNGGG!!! White Rose had done it. He managed to make one clean cut go right through the beast's body, causing one half of it to go soaring way, way, way up into the night sky, and the other half to plop down against the hill uselessly, sending a huge mass of sand clouds to rise up into the air. White Rose remained standing perfectly still on the upraised portion of the baron desert as a statue, keeping that incredibly long sword pointing in the direction where he sent a fraction of the beast's form. Xoshi's jaw was still hanging wide open, and his eyes weren't moving a single inch. White Rose panted for a few seconds, trying to recover from such a battle. Then the two guys heard a loud THHOOOOOOOOMMM way off in the distance. They could feel its rumbling, too. Xoshi wobbled a little as a result, but White Rose kept standing perfectly still. At last, he lowered his sword to the ground. Once he did so, the weapon immediately began shrinking back to its original size. The Pokey Mommy had been officially defeated.

Xoshi was running up the hill to catch up with him. Once the two travelers were right by eachother again, Xoshi could ask. "Who... Are... You??!"

At this point, the knight's sword was finally back to its original size. He shoved it back into its scabbard and faced Xoshi. "I'm just a man," he started, "who spent many years of blood, sweat, and tears just to learn how to wield a sword properly." Xoshi just gawked. White Rose began to descend the hill. "That's my Giant Sword technique," he explained. "It's helped me many times in the past..."

Xoshi still stood on the hill in utter disbelief. _You see,_ Beel said, _the people we'll be recruiting on this quest won't be such ordinary people._ Xoshi still couldn't conclude whether all of what he just saw was real or not. He scratched his head a little, and then got his wits back together. He turned around, and started following this miraculous man again. Their journey continued beneath a dusk sky...

* * *

"Come on," Fyooshi urged. "Get up!" Raphael still wasn't budging.

"Come on, guys," Snifit said. "We've been here long enough. The fight's over. Let's go." The other three almost concurred whole-heartedly. Chak interupted.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" David said.

"They're... Chanting..." Chak had a hand up to an unseen ear so the sound could come more clear to him. The others were doing something similar. The noise was reaching them, too.

"Ra-pha-el... Ra-pha-el... Ra-pha-el... Ra-pha-el..."

"What the-" Shy Guy said.

"Who is this Raphael?" Chak asked.

"The downed one, perhaps?" David reasoned. The chanting started getting faster and louder. The flustered Yoshi that spoke to them earlier along with a few others had also joined in.

"Ra-pha-el! Ra-pha-el! Ra-pha-el! Ra-pha-el!"

"What are you people doing," Ren growled. "He lost, okay?! You're mine now, you hear me?! MINE!!"

The crowd ignored him. They started chanting even faster and even louder this time. More Yoshies had joined in. Even the cowardly Fyooshi.

"Ra-pha-el!Ra-pha-el!Ra-pha-el!Ra-pha-el!"

"Rrg," Raphael groaned, trying desperately to get his muscles moving again. He was aching, bleeding, and sweating all over. Getting up was not going to be easy.

Yoshi was still befuddled, but things started to make a little more sense now. The big Raven that was struggling to get up was the one named Raphael, and unless he did so, something really bad would happen, so everyone was trying to raise morale. He also realized that this cheering everyone was joining in to was for an enemy he and his friends had encountered on their mission against Kamek. He shrugged it off. He decided for the heck of it, even though he didn't speak the same language, that he may as well join in, too.

"Raphael!!Raphael!!Raphael!!Raphel!!"

"Looks like fun!" Shy Guy mused. "Come on, Sniffy, Chakky, Davey!" Shy Guy started making a pumping movement with one of his muscular arms. "RAPHAEL! RAPHAEL! RAPHAEL! RAPHAEL!"

Chak and David looked at eachother and shrugged. Then they started chanting as well. "RAPHAEL!RAPHAEL!RAPHAEL!RAPHAEL!"

Snifit looked at his three comrades as though they'd all gone insane. Then he shook his head and joined in as well.

At this point, the chanting was at its loudest and fastest.

"RAPHAEL!!!RAPHAEL!!!RAPHAEL!!!RAPHAEL!!!"

"Stop it," Ren growled. "STOP IT!!" he shrieked. "STOP IT, ALL OF YOU!! IT'S NO USE!! HE LOST!! GET OVER IT!!!"

As the chanting and the ranting continued, Raphael was going on with his struggle. He wasn't just trying to get back on his feet; he was trying to get his thoughts in order. _I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this,_ he said in his head, _but now I see that I have been left with no other choice..._ He strained for power in his feet as fierecly as he could. They began to tremble. _Ramona..._ he thought. _Mother... Forgive me..._ A tidal wave of strength poured throughout the former ruler's veins, invigorating him at an incredible rate. He flexed his muscles, positioned his back and his feet, and heaved himself back up. The mighty Raphael was back in action. The crowd went wild.

"YYYAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!"

Ren looked as though he had just seen a ghost. He was starting to sweat seeing that his brother was still not down. "No," he gasped. "No. NO! NO!! NO, YOU STUBBORN, IDIOTIC, NO-GOOD, FAT-HEADED BASTARD!!! STAY DOWN!! YOU LOST!!!"

Noone was listening to the dictator. They had all regained their faith in Raphael and the fight was just about to continue. Before it did, though, Raphael had to think one last thing. _This... is madness,_ he thought. _I'm quite convinced that this is going to be the best and worst thing I'll do._

Everyone cheered for Raphael. They were out of control. At last, Raphael concentrated the best he could and let the attack rip. He turned red, he flexed a bulging vein across his forehead, he pumped his muscles, and sent himself rocketing unbelievably high into the sky. The audience, including Yoshi, Fyooshi, Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, David, and even Ren, looked up in pure awe. For a few seconds, all they could see was the dark blue tone of the night sky. Then finally, a black figure started ascending. As it drew closer, it started appearing more and more red. Raphael was crashing down towards the ground at an unbelievable speed.

"No..." Ren whimpered. Then he started shuffling extremely quickly. "NNOOOOOOOOO!!!!" He was covering more distance every split-second than he ever did his whole life. He probably would have made it, too. TTHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!! Raphael landed right next to him, and the abusive Raven went flying, screaming all the way.

"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUggggggghhhhhh..."

The crowd looked up again. They kept watching this smaller, but equally black figure fade away. This time, it didn't come back. It was gone for good. At last, they could feel as though an extremely heavy amount of weight had been lifted from their backs. They could feel as though the sun was going to rise again. They could feel as though their lives could return to normal after all this time. With such tremendous amounts of joy flowing through them, they had but one thing to do: cheer.

"YYYEEEAAAAAHHHHH!!! RAPHAEL! RAPHAEL! RAPHEL! RAPHEL!"

All of the Yoshies, including the four that carried the loser of the battle into the field, ran up to the oversized bird and picked him up, letting him use their upraised hands as an improvised bed. They carried him off as a symbol of victory away from the place. Yoshi was one of the few who stayed behind. _Funny,_ he thought. _They used to do the exact same thing to Boshi..._

In a slightly different location, a certain quartet was busy wrapping things up. "Wellp!" Shy Guy said, enthusiastically, "it looks as though the good guys won, eh, guys?" He got an assorted few mutterings of agreement for a response. "Well," he continued, "I guess we've been stalling long enough. Come on; we'll miss our ride." Shy Guy started turning around, gesturing the others to follow.

"Ride?" Snifit inquired.

"You'll see," Shy Guy said. Not having any clue whatsoever, Snifit shook his head again, and decided to start catching up with those guys...

Up above in the tree that Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Raphael were by earlier, a group of Ravens that each bore strong resemblances to Ren in terms of shape and size had seen the whole thing. They all looked quite pleased. One of them spoke up. "Caw caw," he said. "The battle ended successfully. From here on out, Raphael shall be the master of this island. Caw caw."

"CAWW CAAAWWW!!" the others agreed. They basked in their triumph for a while longer. But then something showed up causing them all to drop their thoughts of triumph and look up.

"Caw??" one of them said. This little crowd of Ravens couldn't believe their eyes as they looked at what was flying over their heads flashing all kinds of strange and colorful lights, making an unusual humming sound. It was the U.F.O. that just crashlanded on their island a little while ago. It was finally back amongst the stars.

"Caw caw," said the one of them again. "This spells bad news... Caaawwww..."

* * *

Inside that very ship, the aliens of purple, silver, and frog-like guises were back in that circular room of theirs, poking at buttons like they were supposed to be.

"This is great, Wart," the captain said, back in his chair next to his right-hand man like he was supposed to be. "Pretty soon, we'll have this entire planet bowing before us!!" he gloated.

_"YES, SIR,"_ the rotund amphibian agreed.

With those words, this enterprise of intergalactic conquerors flew onwards, being up to things noone was quite certain of...

* * *

Xoshi and White Rose had made it out of the desert and into the mountains. They found themselves a nice place to stop and set up camp. Two tents were set up for the pair. They had both eaten their fill of Mushrooms and were calling it a day. White Rose was already in his own tent, trying to catch some Z's, but Xoshi was still out, sitting by the fire. He was looking at the stars, being deep in thought.

_When someone says, "Tell me the constellations," you say..._

_Not now, Beel,_ Xoshi interupted. _I'm thinking..._

_Oh? What about?_

_About... Everything. About this trip. About my friends. Even my enemies,_ Xoshi listed. Various images ran through his head. Images including ones of the weird dream he twice had, the S. S. Dolpic that took him away from Yo'ster Isle (AKA Yoshi's Island), his companions, Yoshi, Yazzee, Boshi, Prof. E. Gadd, and even those two guys that helped them in that fight against those ghouls that tried to take their souls. He also thought of the horde of Pokeys they encountered that day. _Where's it all going? When will it end?_ he thought.

_It'll end,_ said Beel, _when it ends..._

_Yeah,_ Xoshi thought back. _ Sigh... Jeila..._

_Jeila?_

_Yeah... She's the girl I like. We've hardly ever spoken to eachother. But I would just see her on occasion and think... "It's gotta be her. She's the one for me." I keep wanting to get the opportunity to just sit down and talk with her, but..._ Xoshi hesitated. It was strange opening up to a foregin spirit like this. _But... I'm just so... Shy..._

_I see..._ Beel said.

Xoshi gave himself in to more thought. As he was watching the stars, he noticed how a plane was drifting its way in front of the full moon. _I wonder where a plane would be going at a time like this..._ Xoshi pondered. _It's round... Round, round... The moon should not be round..._ Xoshi shook his head, backed away from the glowing fire and headed on into his tent. Crawling around in there, he managed to find that idol of the Super-Happy Tree, and place it in front of himself.

_What are you doing now?_ Beel asked.

_I'm praying,_ Xoshi answered, beginning to fold his hands and close his eyes. They opened up. _Wait a minute,_ he said suddenly. _Geez, you really don't go reading my mind anymore, huh?!_

_Well,_ Beel said, _you told me not to._

Xoshi gave a chuckle out loud. _Thanks, Beel. You've been a great friend, you know that?_

_I'm your... Friend??_

_Yeah, why not? I mean, whenever I have questions, you answer them. Whenever I'm feeling bummed out, you cheer me up,_ Xoshi explained.

_Hmm..._

_Anyway,_ Xoshi said. _Enough chat. Down to business!_ Xoshi closed his eyes again and began his prayer. _Dear, Mother,_ he thought, _I pray for the strength to change what I can, the ability to accept what I can't..._ His prayer went on. At last, he finished. _And in your name I pray, Amen._ He opened his eyes, unfolded his hands, put the idol back in its hiding spot, and made himself comfortable. _Goodnight, Beel,_ Xoshi thought to the spirit.

_Goodnight, Xoshi,_ the spirit thought back.

_Goodnight, Belome,_ Xoshi thought to the unusual doll. The doll said nothing.

Before trying to get some sleep again, he had to remind himself that most likely the next day was going to be another crazy one...

* * *

Shy Guy had lead Snifit, Chak, and David to the edge of one of Lava Lava Island's shores. They were standing around, looking confused. Shy Guy was the only one who wasn't confused, though. He only stood in front of the water with his powerful arms folded. This just made the situation all the more befuddling.

"Shy Guy," Snifit asked. "What are we doing here?"

"You'll see," Shy Guy instructed.

The four guys remained still, waiting for whatever it was that they were waiting for. Then finally they could start feeling as though their patience had come to pay off. The waves a few feet in front of Shy Guy started bubbling. Everyone watched as the bubbling got fiercer. Then FFWWWOOOOSHHH!! They all jumped back at the sight. A gigantic dinosaur-like head lifted itself out of the water using a lengthy neck. It was sticking out of a massive turtle-like shell. The majority of its natural suit of armor and the rest of its scales were an orange-yellow color. It let out a strange, high-pitched moaning noise.

"Guys," said the muscular 8-Bit, reaching behind himself and pulling out what looked like a large, oddly-shaped piece of produce that was half purple, half blue, "meet Dino Splash. It only comes once every Wednesday night." He tossed the fruit to the creature, and it caught the delicacy with its mouth, chewed, and swallowed. It let out another moan, and lowered its head. Shy Guy took a step onto the animal's big cranium. He turned around and noticed the other three were hesitating. "Well, come on!" he beckoned. He walked down its long neck and made himself comfortable on the back of its tremendous shell. Soon, his companions were there with him as well. The creature lifted its head back up and started to slowly turn around. "TO KARIBOO ISLAND!" Shy Guy yelled to it, raising an arm, enthusiastically. It let out another moan and started using its reptilian fins to swim in the direction of that place.

The peaceful evening that this resulted in contrasted greatly with the previous events. This unusual group of four was resting on the back of a turtle-like beast, and they were headed slowly for a magical place beneath the glow of the starlit sky, surrounded by the gentle sound of the lapping of the waves nearby.

"Hey, Shy Guy," said Snifit, "what was that you just fed to Dino Splash?"

"A Dino Mango," Shy Guy said. "Dino Splash's favorite food."

"Say, Shy Guy." Chak grabbed his attention. "How long will it take to get to Kariboo Island?"

"Don't sweat it," said Shy Guy. "It only takes a few hours to get there."

"Ah," Chak said, satisfied.

The questions had been answered, and the journey had been continued. The pleased quartet went on enjoying themselves in peace on the back of the strange, but wonderful creature, Dino Splash...

* * *

"Where is here? Here is where? One thing's for sure: I'm not over THERE. Oh, my, what's this?..."

Ren was on the ground, lying on the grass, practically unable to move. He was completely covered in soars and bruises and other forms of pain. His spirit had been broken.

_Why, why, WHY..._ he raged in his mind. _How could I have lost? How could I have let such a big, dumb softie like my own brother win? I'll never forgive myself for this. Never, never..._

He loathed himself away into the night. Then an odd person shuffled up to him and gave him a poke.

"GAH!! What do you want?!" Ren blurted. He rolled onto one side and saw four images whirling around eachother. Then he just saw one. He saw a Raven-like individual with a curly unibrow. "Who the-"

"Hello, Ren," Razule said. "I'm your biggest fan!..."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**  
William was back beneath the covers with his head against a pillow. He found himself to be quite comfortable. It seemed everything was back on the right track again. The darkness of the room at night was all that was in front of his eyes and pure silence was all that was in his ears. He dreamed on, worrying about nothing in the world. Then, for some reason, he awoke in the middle of the night. His eyes opened up, and a wave of consciousness swept over him. At last, he got thinking again. First he wondered where he was and what had happened. Then it occurred to him. Those Evil Clowns attacking, fleeing to the mountains, asking a mad scientist for shelter, waving goodbye to him, having a run-in with a talking music box, waiting forever for the opportunity to help it... He thought some more about it. Becoming reuinited with it, seeing a brilliant statue of it, that haunting melody... It all came back to him. He even remembered unleashing a very peculiar woman named Annabyss. Queen of the Anuboos, was it? Yeah, that was it. She gave him a sword, and then she...

_It was a dream,_ he thought, relieved. _It was all a dream..._ He sat up in his bed and looked around. The blackness that his eyes had adjusted to revealed all. Dr. Kamenstein's guest room looked different. The shape was different, the size was different... Even the furniture was different. Tessa! Where had she gone? She was nowhere in sight. As a matter of fact, his was the only bed in the room. What had happened? Did his mother come in while he was sleeping and very quietly rearrange everything? Did the two of her and his sister leave without telling him so they could go and run some errands? No, that couldn't have been it, even though no other guesses came to mind. Perhaps that woman over there in the corner would be able to help him out?

Wait... That certainly wasn't his mother. She didn't dress like that. She was at a desk that was illuminated by a lone candle. She was writing something with what looked like a big feather. He watched her in utter confusion and a little fear. A moment later, the woman put down the feather and turned around. William jolted at the sight. She wrapped her fingers around certain parts of the chair she was then in and pushed her way out. Once she was up and walking towards him, he could see her in even more detail.

Her height was average, but there was a bit of a hunch to her shoulders. She wore a billowing skirt and a hood. Both were light blue and decorated with patterns that looked like water. What was very strange was that the woman's hood was actually part of a cloak, but she didn't wear it to cover her body. She wore the bulk of it bunched up around her neck and her shoulders, almost like a scarf. The front part that sagged down covered her breasts (unlike Annabyss), but not her stomach. He could see that her skin was grey and disturbingly bony. He didn't like being able to see her ribs without an X-ray. She didn't wear her sleeves for her arms for that matter. She wore them trailing behind her like a pair of capes. As for her arms, they were just as unsightly as her stomach. They, too, were unusually thin. She wore metal cuffs around her wrists and her fingernails were black, and very long and pointy. Her face was also pretty frightening. It was also quite bony so William could clearly see where her cheekbones ended and where her eye-sockets began. Not only that, but the skin surrounding her eyes was pitch-black, her lips were pitch-black, and her eyes were yellow. She looked very ghastly. In addition to this, for reasons unclear, she had a line of stitches going across her forehead. Beneath that hood, he could see two bolts sticking out of her neck. Dangling out of the hood were two incredibly long and thick locks of completely white hair. They curved and coiled right in front of her chest like a duo of springs. She also wore two chains for a belt and sandals on her scrawny feet. All in all, she looked very skeleton-like.

William watched this bizarre woman approach him in a scared mood. Suddenly, he found he was colder than usual. He looked beneath the covers and discovered that he was completely naked. Not wanting her to see anything, he flopped back onto his pillow, pulling the covers tighter over him, covering everything from the nose down. He kept his eyes out, not wanting to let such a person out of his sight. Once she was close enough, she stopped and stared at him with her arms hanging like dead weights.

"You awake?" she said darkly. Her gloomy facial expression didn't change.

"Um, uh, yes," he stammered. His fingers clasped harder onto the sheets. "Don't come in, though!!" He was feeling drops of cold sweat on his forehead.

The woman still had that look on her face. She just stared at him without blinking, appearing more bored than amused. "We found you on the shore. Your clothes were soaked. You were unconscious. We brought you in, and we hung them up to dry." The two people continued to stare at eachother. "I am Oceanus," she said, placing a bony hand against her chest. "You're in the Forbidden Forest. We are the Death Sickles. This is our hideout."

"The... Death Sickles??" William asked.

She didn't nod. She was as stiff as a board. "Yes, the Death Sickles. We're a secret organization. Perhaps you've heard of us."

"Um... Maybe," William said. The name only seemed vaguely familiar. William knitted his brow. "Wait a minute," he said, "if this place is secret... how come you're telling me all this??"

The woman was still stiff. "It's complicated," she said.

Something vital suddenly kicked William in the back of his head. His eyes went wide, and he pulled the upper half of his body out from beneath the covers so he could sit upright while asking this woman what he needed to know. "Tessa! Storko! Mom! The babies! Are they alright?!" he spazzed.

Whap! She quickly, but somewhat gently slapped her left hand over his mouth and kept it there. She still looked gloomy and stiff. William still looked wide-eyed. She leaned forward. "Questions later. Sleep now," she said. She slipped her hand away from his mouth and let it plop down in front of her so it could resume looking like an inanimate pendulum. William didn't stop giving her creeped-out looks. She stared for a while longer, and then she turned around and started walking back to her candlelit desk. She reached her chair, grabbed it with her right hand, sat down, and picked the feather back up. She looked like she was about to continue writing, but she had to turn her head around. She could see that William was still sitting up. This time he had his head turned so he could keep his unblinking eyes on her. Oceanus stared back. "Sleep," she ordered. Getting given the look of death, William swiftly obeyed. He plopped his head back onto the pillow, pulled the covers up, and closed his eyes. Oceanus turned around and got back to work.

_He'll round out this place for sure,_ she thought...

* * *

Tessa had been in better moods. She was hot, sweaty, tired, hungry, nautious, and very, very nervous. It wasn't easy getting out of that deep, dark place, but she managed to pull it off. She then found herself in the middle of an aisle with a bunch of seats on either side of her. All the while, she wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to be up and about, walking around in a moving airplane, but she kept feeling she had to follow her instincts on this one. They were telling her to keep moving until she made it to the big room at the end of this place. Surely there she'd be able to catch up with this so-called Annabyss person and maybe even get this whole thing straightened out somehow. She slowly tip-toed down the area between the seats, hoping to avoid a scene of any kind. However...

_Ah, the night. It's so comforting,_ Annabyss thought. Something caught her attention. _What's this?..._

"Boys," she asked, "what's the matter?"

"Hinter Ihnen, Madame," Wario and Waluigi said. They each pointed behind themselves using the thumbs of their right hands. They were referring to the intruding little girl sneaking up on them. Tessa stopped dead in her tracks, not drawing a single breath.

"Mm?" Annabyss said. She twisted around in her seat and set her rainbow eyes on the intruder. Tessa felt her heart sink. "Ah, it looks like we have ourselves a little stowaway..." Tessa started looking around, frantically, not sure what to do.

"Werden wir für sie, Madame sorgen?" Wario and Waluigi said. They smushed their gloved hands into one another and cracked their knuckles.

Annabyss shook her head. She turned around and held out her palm. "That won't be necessary, boys. You just keep flying the plane."

Tessa was shaking in her boots. She felt anything could happen at this point. Suddenly, Annabyss got up from her seat and strode over to the little girl. She knelt down before her and looked up so she could speak to her at her level. "It's alright, dear," she said, extending her right hand and placing it on the girl's left shoulder. It made her jolt. "I'm not going to hurt you," Annabyss counciled. Tessa was hyperventilating and breaking into a sweat. Annabyss lifted her other hand and put it on the girl's other shoulder. She started massaging them. Tessa became a little bewildered. "Just calm down, dear, I understand you're very upset. Just calm down. Caaalm down. Everything will be alright, dear, just calm down." The strange woman's methods seemed to be working. Gradually, Tessa became less tense, her breathing became shorter, and her perspiration was beginning to slow down. She could relax her wide stare. Seeing this, Annabyss removed her hands from the girl's shoulders and folded her arms. "Alright, dear," Annabyss said, "now tell me what's the matter."

"You..." Tessa started. She still wasn't sure about this. She was beginning to feel a pinching feeling in her throat. She felt she couldn't go on, but she knew she had to. She swallowed hard, and kept going. "You... came from the laboratory," she got out.

Annabyss nodded. "I did," she said.

Tessa continued. "You knocked out my mother, and you stole Dr. Kamenstein's plane!" she said, making her voice jumpy with anxiety.

Annabyss nodded some more. "Go on."

Tessa could feel her eyes beginning to sting. "The babies disappeared, William had a sword..." She trailed off. She was making her words choke. Her little fists went to her eyes, trying to stop the flow of the oncoming tears. Annabyss tilted her head, looking concerned. "Who are you?!" Tessa said through a wavering voice. "What's going on?!" She knelt down and started sobbing.

Annabyss lowered her head. "You think me some great criminal," she said. Tessa didn't respond. She just kept crying. Annabyss lifted her head up, facing the girl again. "Listen," she said, "I understand we got off to a rocky start, but I assure you I can explain everything." Tessa still didn't answer. Annabyss stood up. "Come, dearie. Sit down with me." She gestured towards one of the seats they were between with her left hand. Tessa shook her head. "Please, dear," Annabyss said. Tessa shook her head again. Annabyss bent downward. "Please, dear. You'll get motion sickness if you stay there on the floor. I'm fearing for your health. Let me do this for you, at least." Tessa remained there on the floor, sniffling. Finally, she looked up at the woman through drenched eyes. She looked down and got up off the floor. She solemnly walked past Annabyss, past the one seat, and got in the one next to the window. She was still moping and sniffling. Annabyss nodded. "Good girl," she said. She glided over and sat in the one next to her. Tessa was staring her red and puffy eyes out the window, seeing the dark blue stripes of land that formed Sarasa Land down below. Annabyss grabbed her attention. "Now," she said, "allow me to explain...

"It all began approximately 300 years ago," she said. "Something horrendous happened. It was a time of darkness. Terror reigned, hacov was wreaced, and the people's will to live just seemed to deplete. Something had to be done. I was one of the few who chose to fight on and turn around these injustices. Alas, I was too late. One of the things I had to suffer as punishment was to be bound within a magic music box for all of eternity. My power had been stripped. Only two things could release me from such an imprisonment: Manajus and a noble heart.

"Manajus is a form of energy that can only be obtained by performing very specific tasks. Tasks such as defeating monsters, hindering intolerable operations, recovering from amnesia, and the like. It can be used to perform a variety of impossible things such as planting nightmares into people's heads and shapeshifting." Annabyss put a hand over her chest to represent that she was capable of doing one of those things. Sitting next to her, the upset Tessa remained dreary. The woman continued her story. "Fortunately, a group of harlequins were able to find my box and get that Manajus for me. Unfortunately, to my dismay, they decided to do it by hypnotizing people through their enchanting songs, and stealing money from those people during their trances. I appreciated their want to help me, but I simply dislike stealing..."

"Then why did you steal Dr. Kamenstein's airplane?!" Tessa yelled, looking at the woman and flinging drops of her tears off her face.

Annabyss let her breathe a few times more before answering. "Times haven't changed, dear. That darkness still surrounds us, and it needs purifying. I am the only one who can do this. I am sorry, but sometimes, one must do a little wrong in order to a little right."

"What are you talking about?!" Tessa argued. "What darkness?! Everything's fine!!"

Annabyss shook her head. "Poor child," she exclaimed. "Poor, poor child. Have you truly been so deprived all these years? Are you truly so unaware of the misdemeanors that plague this world?" Tessa said nothing. Annabyss resumed the explanation. "A few years ago," she began, "all the Manajus I needed was collected. The harlequins would have revived me, but my box was stolen..."

_Again with the stealing,_ Tessa thought.

"It was stolen by the one who gave you shelter..."

Tessa's eyes turned wide. "No..." she whispered.

"Yes. It was Dr. Kamenstein, the man who invented the Sky-Pop and this jet: the Kame Cruiser."

Tessa looked very confused, upset, and even disappointed. She also had a tinge of fear in her. "Why?" she asked, sorrowfully. "Why would he do such a thing??"

"He did it for their own good. When they played their song to him, they stole something very precious to him. He decided to steal it for revenge. He also didn't want to see me revived."

"Why not?" Tessa asked.

The woman shook her head again. "He feared the consequences. He thought something terrible would happen."

"But..." Tessa stuttered. "But..."

Annabyss held up the index finger of her right hand to make her quiet. Tessa lost the desire to interject. Annabyss's gesture worked. She put it down and went on. "Much like you, dear, the doctor didn't know enough. Over the years, he became hungry for knowledge. Knowledge and power. He became the royal vizier of the Mario royal family. Even then, he continued his research. He found himself some things concerning myself and the ones he stole me from. He found out they were weak against ice-elemental attacks. He also found out I was a powerful being with a mind of her own. He didn't care. He only wanted ways to get back at the harlequins.

"His hunger corrupted him. The royal family kicked him out of their country, which only filled him with more selfish desires.

"He's a man of vengeance, dear. Vengeance, greed, and pride. It's a shame you didn't know this when you asked him for shelter."

Tessa's eyelids wouldn't budge. She stared off into space, taking in these harsh and complicated words. She slowly lowered her head, looking at her feet, barely reaching the floor.

"He didn't just invent the Sky-Pop and the Kame Cruiser, dear," Annabyss added, leaning to the right and looking at the girl. Tessa slowly lifted her head and looked back. "He invented that stork. That bird that took care of you. He tried to imitate the godly, dear, and he tried doing so by breaking the rules and inventing his own creatures. That is another fault, dear." Annabyss pulled away and leaned back against her seat, but Tessa continued staring. "And what for?" Annabyss said, waving a hand. "Only to create more creatures. Like those two up there." She leaned slightly to her left and pointed to the cockpit. Tessa tried leaning as well to get a good look, but she was too far away. She hopped out of her seat, walked past Annabyss, and into that area. Soon, she found herself between the two pilots of the jet. They looked faintly familiar. She started turning her head left and right, looking at them both in pure disbelief.

The pilots raised their right hands and gave a subtle wave to the girl. "Guten Abend kleines Mädchen," they said.

"It... It can't be..." Tessa said, her eyes wider than ever. Maintaining the stunned look on her face, she slowly turned around and started walking back to where Annabyss was. Annabyss was watching her. The girl stopped in front of the woman once she started talking again.

"Wario and Waluigi: the Kamenstein Bros. I rescued them from a soulless fate."

Tessa turned around and looked Annabyss straight in the eye. "You... You made them bigger??"

Annabyss nodded. "It was either that, or killing them. As you can see, my dear, it's not in my blood to kill babies. Birds, on the other hand..." she trailed.

"How... How could you?!" Tessa wailed. "You're a monster!!"

"Please, dear..." Annabyss pleaded.

Tessa stamped her foot. "NO!! If you're such a nice person, like you say you are, then why don't you turn them back, turn this plane around, and apologize to everyone?!"

"They wouldn't understand. You, however, Tessa Abigail Ice, would, so please listen."

Tessa froze. She took her gaze off the woman and stared off into space. "How... How do you know my name??" she breathed.

"Three-hundred years trapped in a box can be a very, very long time, dear. I didn't spend it just sitting around, you know. If there was any perk to being trapped in such a box, it was that it allowed me to perform Astral Projection."

"Astral Projection??" Tessa asked.

"Yes. It allowed me to cast my spirit out and tour the world. I could see all and hear all, but noone could see or hear me, not unlike a ghost. Well... Most people couldn't hear me...

"There's something special about your brother, William, dear. He could hear me. He could see that I needed to be free. He could see that I needed to step out of that box and set the world right. I can see that he has great things going for him. My power had returned. So I gave him that sword..."

This made sense to Tessa. She did, afterall, see William walk out of the lab with such a weapon; the lab that Annabyss came from as well. Then it hit her. She bolted her head up and looked at the woman again. "Oh my gosh! William! Storko! Mom! Where are they?!" she panicked.

Annabyss shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear, but I do not know."

Tessa started trembling. "What?! But I thought you said you knew everything!!"

Annabyss shook her head again. "I did not, dear. Through Astral Projection, I was able to learn a lot over the years. I am not lying when I say the world is filled with many problems."

"S-So?!" Tessa freaked, making claws out of her hands and shaking them.

"Listen, dear: I know that in order to create Wario and Waluigi, Dr. Kamenstein had to steal the two new children of the king and queen of Mario Land. I know that while he had them stolen, the babies got re-stolen by Kamek, the Magikoopa of the Koopa Klan. I know that eight Yoshies had to join forces and get them back. I know that Dr. Kamenstein has finally gotten his revenge, I know that the king and queen are with their children, enjoying themselves in the Mushroom Kingdom, I know that Kamek and the rest of the Koopa Klan are plotting to kidnap those children again, I know that five of those Yoshies are back on Yoshi's Island, I know that one of them is on Isle Delfino, another is on Lava Lava Island, and another is on a quest for the Star Spirits, but I do not know where your brother, your mother, or the bird is. I'm sorry." An uncomfortable silence drifted its way into the conversation at this point. For a while, neither of the two females said or did anything. Then two tears rolled down the face of Tessa. Annabyss took note of this. She stood up from her seat. "Listen, dearie," she started, "things may seem desolate now, but there's still hope! Magikoopas are on the loose, ghosts are running amok, ooze is swimming about... Even those harlequins are still up to no good. The world is in a terrible way right now, and I intend to correct it," she stated. She shook her head. "No," she elicited. "I WILL correct it. Yes, with the help of the once-forsaken Kamenstein Bros., I will." She knelt down in front of the teary Tessa like she did at the beginning of the discussion, but was closer to her this time. "Tessa," she said, "you want an escape from the monotony of your life. You want to release yourself from the binds of tyranny. You want to see the world and expand your thoughts. No..." she said, correcting herself once more. "You know you need to, Tessa." The girl was still standing there, letting the warm droplets slide down her face. Annabyss extended an intimidating hand, placed the girl's chin in it, and used it to gently lift her face so their eyes could be level. "Tessa, darling," she said, "I've known you since the day you were born. You were always such a nice, honest little girl, Tessa. Don't be dishonest with yourself now." She removed her hand from the girl's chin. The two of them continued staring at one another. "The choice is yours, dearie: This can either be the beginning of a series of fulfilling, new experiences with righteousness and no regrets, or but a continuation of your mundane life of sorrow and emptiness." They remained gazing. Tessa didn't respond. "What say you?"

Tessa still didn't respond. She shifted her moist eyes downward, and commenced the deep thinking. _Is it true?_ she thought. _Have I really led the wrong life? Can I really turn it all around by going with this person?_

Tessa looked into Annabyss's pair of rainbows once more. "Can I... think about it?" she said.

Annabyss nodded again. "Take all the time you want, dearie. There's no rush."

"Thank you," Tessa said. At last, she moved away from Annabyss, got back in her seat, and returned to sitting there with her eyes observing the country of Sarasa Land beneath their plane.

"You're welcome, dear," Annabyss said, turning around and bowing to the little girl. Tessa gave her a miniscule smile in return, but that was it. She went back to watching the land roll by and thinking. Annabyss made herself face the other way, walked past her seat away from Tessa, into the aisle, back into the cockpit, and back into her seat. Wario and Waluigi were still handling things as competently as ever.

_I most certainly hope she says, "Yes,"_ Annabyss thought to herself. _Arriving at Uaurpe will be easier with both brains and brawn..._

* * *

Oceanus continued scribbling stuff down and William continued lying back in his bed with his eyes wide open. How could he get to sleep in a situation like this?

_So it wasn't just a dream,_ he thought darkly. _What am I doing here? What do they want with me, anyway?_ He wondered. _It doesn't matter,_ the boy decided. _They'd better spill the beans tomorrow morning, or else..._

Oceanus got finished with what she was writing and decided to call it a night. She put the quill down and looked behind her. She noticed the boy's eyes were still not closed. She rolled her own and turned back around, looking at the candle.

_I hope we're right about this,_ she thought. She leaned closer to the little flame dancing atop that skinny wick, puckered up, and blew it out. With that, the room became engulfed in complete darkness. Maybe now, the boy would be able to have an easier time getting some sleep...


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**  
The ride with Dino Splash was over. Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David had finally arrived at the place: Kariboo Island. However, for them, the night was not for traveling, so as soon as they found a nice opening in the middle of the woods, they arranged a few logs in a circle and got a good fire going in the center of it. They sat down and let the story-swapping begin.

"...And ever since, I've been terrified by dogs," Chak was saying.

"It's true," David added.

"Well, that's sounds pretty rough," Shy Guy sympathized.

"Yes, indeed. Anyway, enough about that," said Chak. "You people say you used to be members of the Shy Squad?"

"Shy Gang," Snifit corrected.

"Ah, yes, yes. Well? Tell us about that," Chak insisted.

"Wellll..." Shy Guy said, lifting a beefy hand to the bottom of his mask and scratching it like a chin. "Ummm... Snifit, where do we start?" he asked.

"It starts," Snifit said, "with a poster."

"OOOHHH, YEEAAHH!! Now I remember!!" Shy Guy said excitedly. He cleared his throat while thumping a big fist against his chest, and then he spread his arms out dramatically to let the tale begin. "It was about a year ago," he started. "Me and Shy Guy were walking down the street, minding our own businesses..."

"We weren't walking down the street," Snifit interupted.

Shy Guy ignored him. "...When suddenly this POSTER just leapt out in front of us and started talking to us..."

"It wasn't talking," Snifit argued.

"...It said, 'I WANT YOU,'" Shy Guy continued, pointing with one finger to imitate the picture of the 8-Bit on the poster, "'TO JOIN THE SHY GANG!!' To this day, I can't explain it, but there was something about that poster that made me wanna, I dunno, join the Shy Gang!

"I looked at Snifit and thought, 'Dude! Snifit! We, like, totally need to join the Shy Gang, or somethin'!'

"And he was like, 'Yeah! Let's do it!'"

"No, I said they were a bunch of self-contradicting Hippies and that the Super Mushroom League was probably a better idea," Snifit interjected.

Shy Guy continued. "So we walked through the doors, looked 'em straight in the eye, and said, 'YOU WANT US TO JOIN THE SHY GANG!!'

"And they said, 'YOU'RE RIGHT!! WE DO!!' And they let us join."

"It was hell," Snifit said.

"It was heaven," Shy Guy said.

"For days on end, they made us beat up all kinds of monsters, run all kinds of obstacle courses, and perform various other tasks," Snifit explained.

"And sometimes, they'd give us free brownies and fruit juice!" said Shy Guy.

"Then at last, the big day came," Snifit said. "Our leader, the Shy King, had us all gathered in one room so he could tell us about the next big mission."

"He told us we had to go on a scavenger hunt!..." Shy Guy said.

"...For seven disembodied body parts," Snifit finished. "A torso with the head still attached, two arms, two legs, and two wings. He said we had to get into groups of two. Robin Hifit got Small Fry, Crystal Guy got Grey Guy, Groove Guy got Groovum..."

"...Yeah, Groove Guy and Groovum? Boy, those guys had great ideas," the big one said, sarcastically. "Oh! And Snifit Guy got Me Guy!" Shy Guy explained.

Snifit sighed. "Yeah, I got stuck with this big doofus," Snifit said pointing to the muscle-man. "The Shy King said that the 8-Bits had been living far too long eating out of the palms of the hands of the rest of the world, and that it was about time we stood up and took action. He said that once we got the seven body parts..."

"...We would get the girl!..." Shy Guy added.

"...We would get the goddess, Tondariya, back on our side, so she could lead us in our quest to fill the world with... 'Shyness and Guyness'..." Snifit dragged that last part out, not wanting to say something so embarrassing.

"Shy Guyness... WHOO!!" Shy Guy said, pumping his arms. Chak and David gave him a weird look.

Snifit continued. "It wasn't easy tracking those things down," he said. "We encountered many dangers along the way. We had picnics to ruin, new members to recruit, candy to eat, people to meet..."

"...Yeah, like there was this magic Yoshi named Naji, this weird guy named Razule, this ice-breathing girl and her little sidekick named Blifit and Sackle, this guy dressed in black named Shmy Guy, this weird Koopa named Gorroh..." Shy Guy listed, counting on his non-existent fingers.

"...There was even a group of seven evil clowns calling themselves the 'Demonic Jesters'," Snifit added.

"Yeah, they rocked!" Shy Guy commented.

"Them, and the Super Mushroom League, even," Snifit said, darkly.

"Yeah, they had everything. There was this little brown guy, this creepy Yoshi guy, this Para Troopa with glasses named Holy Troopa, this pirate woman named Spatula, this superwoman named Cherry Blossom, this pink Yoshi girl named Yoshiki, this woman in a green dress named Doreen, this crazy Toad named Big T., and this-"

"-Yeah, yeah, Shy Guy, they get the picture," Snifit interupted, noticing the confused looks on the faces of Chak and David. "That may have sounded tough, and all," continued Snifit, "but our most difficult adversary was this... wooden doll thing..." Snifit said that slowly since he felt he had no better way of describing it.

"Yeah, she said her real name was awkward and hard to pronounce and that we should call her 'Princess Shokora' instead," Shy Guy elaborated.

"She said she was, uh, named after the doll and that the doll was modeled after someone else," Snifit established.

"That's strange," Chak said. David stared into the flickering fire, looking pensive.

"Yeah, we didn't get it, either," said Shy Guy.

"Anyway," Snifit said, picking the story back up, "once we got the sixth one, the whole lot of us had to head on over to the secret hideout of the Super Mushroom League, because supposedly the seventh one was being held there."

"It was crazy. Everybody showed up! Including Naji, Razule, Blifit, Sackle, Shmy Guy, Gorroh, the Demonic Jesters, the Super Mushroom League, and-"

"-And Princess Shokora," Snifit interupted. "It was quite a battle. In the end, she cast this huge spell on us."

"I thought I had gone nuts!" Shy Guy said.

"Yeah, I had no idea what just happened," Snifit said. "One second, I was at the hideout, the next, I was in a bar, asking around."

"I was in a junkyard," Shy Guy clarified. Chak and David looked surprised.

"I was asking around," Snifit continued, "and pretty soon, I found out..." he paused. He looked solemn. "Well... They said the Shy Gang was gone. The Shy King, Robin Hifit, Small Fry... All of them... Gone..." He shook his head.

"Well..." David said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Ah, it wasn't all bad," Shy Guy said. "With the Shy Gang out of the way, I could laugh, I could cry, I could ride Dino Splash..."

"Me, though," Snifit said, laughing slightly nervously afterwards, "I got abducted by space aliens..."

Chak and David both gave the grey-colored 8-Bit some wide-eyed stares as he threw that part into the story. Snifit shrugged his shoulders and went on with the explanation...

* * *

"So, then what happened?" Crookie asked Sackle. The two of them were still in the premises of Mad Scienstein's lair with that wonderful robot, the Giga Mole, way in front of them. To pass the time, the two of them were sitting down against the stone wall right next to one of the counters of the vicinity.

"Well, then the wooden chick cast this big fat spell, and... Uh..." Sackle hesitated. He scratched his temple, attempting to strain his brain for an answer. "I... landed in a corn field."

Crookie was confused. "What??" he asked.

"I, uh, don't really know what happened, Crookie. Sorry," Sackle responded.

Crookie's face was plastered with disbelief. "Oh... Gosh..." he slowly let out.

Sackle continued the story. "Yeah, yeah. A while after that, I managed to find out that Blifit was dead, that Razule was no genius, just insane, and that I was on my own," he resumed. "I went everywhere trying to find the doll. I climbed mountains, I visited cities... including one called Thornton..."

"Ohhh, yeahhh..." Crookie said, nodding. This part of this story was in his memory as well.

"There, I- Aw, nevermind. You know what happens," Sackle said, interupting himself and pushing the air in front of him sloppily with a hand.

"Yeah, I know. You saw that I was in deep doo-doo, you saved my life, and you let me be your apprentice."

"Yup," Sackle agreed. With that, the discussion of past experiences was finally overwith and it became time to move on to the next subject.

"Hey, Boss?" Crookie asked.

"Yeah?" Sackle responded.

"How exactly are we gonna be able to get one of those Giga Mole things, anyway?" the apprentice said.

"Well," Sackle replied, holding his arms out, "we ask him if it's okay for us to borrow one, and if he says, 'No,' then we just go ahead and borrow it from him anyway when he's not looking."

"Oh. Gotcha, Boss," Crookie said. He asked another question. "Hey, Boss?"

"What?" Sackle said.

"When do we get to ask him?"

"We ask him," the boss said, "as soon as he's done rummaging around in his whatnots and shows us the way out."

"Ah. Okay," Crookie exclaimed. Speaking those words was what had brought another case to a close. However, other people still might have had a few issues to resolve at such an hour...

"Let's see here... 1-up hearts, pumpkins, autographs..." Mad Scienstein was in another one of his stone rooms, glowing blue with the flames, all the while digging through some of his drawers trying to find whatever it was he claimed happened to be the key to getting off of the moon and back in the real world. This time, his hair was dry and his body was dressed. He had his labcoat on and was beginning to question his locating methods. He stopped the searching temporarily to sit up straight and scratch the back of his matted head. "Well, I know I have this stuff because of that one visit to Mario Land," he thought out loud. "We rode a bus, we rode an airplane..." He trailed off contemplating over previous occurrences. He shook his head. "That's enough rambling for the day. My guests are counting on me..." Using such a combination of sentences, he discontinued his musings and returned to hunting down a certain something. The eccentric man resumed the exploration and time dragged on...

* * *

"...So that was pretty interesting to say the least," Snifit said, finishing up the story. "Bottom line: the Shy Gang's days are over (but Shy Guy's aren't, apparently), Tondariya's still in pieces, and they, along with Naji, Razule, Blifit, Sackle, Shmy Guy, Gorroh, the Demonic Jesters, the Super Mushroom League, Princess Shokora, that one Yoshi I helped, and those space aliens could be anywhere right now, doing anything."

"The End," Shy Guy said dramatically, holding his arms out as he did at the start of the tale.

"Any questions?" Snifit inquired. David raised his hand. "Yes, David?" he said.

"You say you met a group of people known as the 'Demonic Jesters', correct?" he said, leaning forward, his face getting to glow a brighter orange color from the fire.

Snifit nodded. "Yeah," he said.

"Tell us some more about them," David requested.

"Okay," Snifit said. "Ummm... I know they started off being known as the 'Evil Clowns', THEN they were the 'Demonic Jesters'... I heard they were weak against something; I'm not sure. Anyway, I think we had troubles with them because they wanted to get Tondariya back, also."

"But get this," Shy Guy said with his huge arms extended before him. "They wanted to do it... with a music box!!" Chak and David looked surprised again. Shy Guy burst out laughing, leaning backwards and slapping a brawny hand against a knee.

Snifit shook his head. "Yeah... Those guys were great at playing music, and all, but they sucked at doing research."

"Yeah! Just like those Groove Guy and Groovum guys were," Shy Guy said after getting a hold of himself.

"Yup," Snifit agreed. The fire in front of the quartet crackled and sent a few lighted specks of red into the air a while longer. Then Snifit spoke again. "Well," he said, "anymore questions?"

His other two companions looked at one another. The mutated one shook his head. They looked back and David responded. "No. I'm just hoping those clowns aren't causing anymore trouble is all."

"Alright, then," Shy Guy said, stretching his strong arms out behind him, "I guess we call it a night, then! Remember: tomorrow's the big day!" The others nodded, not thinking any differently. After the agreement, the four of them began shuffling about, preparing themselves for a good night's rest. Up above, the sky was black and shimmering with stars as though other beings out there were also wishing the four of them the best of luck in their endeavor. Also, another suspicious full moon was out. Down below, the adventurers were being left with thoughts of their own.

_Since when was the moon round?_ Snifit thought. _I guess it doesn't matter. I've got crazy enough things to worry about, I guess..._

_I hope this ends well,_ thought Chak. _I'm tired of looking like some big, ugly bug thing..._

_I'm tired of being small,_ thought David. _I hope I don't start wetting the bed again..._

While his three teammates were thinking, so was Shy Guy. _Man,_ he said in his head, _I LOVE being huge..._


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**  
The mountains lay flat against the dim, blue sky. They were jagged pieces of brown construction paper against a periwinkle canvass. These cool rocks of massive proportions remained as such a scenery for a while longer until the sun came up. It crept up from behind them, first as a sliver of orange, then as a slab of yellow, then finally a ball of white. Morning had come, and it was time for two certain travelers to take down their tents and move on.

Xoshi stood in the middle of the rocky path cutting through the stone-filled vicinity of the giant work of nature. He was thinking about the road they had ahead of them. White Rose walked up beside him. "Are you ready, Sir Xoshi?"

"Yes I am," Xoshi said.

"Alright, then," White Rose said. "Let's get moving..." Once again, the journey of the Yoshi in brown and the man in white could continue. Together, they began descending the rocky place called Mt. Rugged...

* * *

"What do you mean our flight has been cancelled?!" All was not well in an airport of the Mushroom Kingdom. The parents of Mario and Luigi had their bags all packed up and their children with them all set and ready to go, but the female Toad in uniform behind the counter was giving the father a hard time. 

She scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry, Sir, but we've just been experiencing some major technical difficulties lately, so please bear with us," she said.

The father scowled at the small woman. He reached into the folds of his shirt and pulled out a fancy-looking amulet. It was a medallion attached to a chain around his neck which his collar roots concealed. The medallion consisted of a gold M in the middle of a gold circle. "Listen here," he stated, "I am the king of Mario Land, and I DESERVE to have a plane take me and my family back to our nation, so give us one right now, or else!" the king demanded.

The Toad scratched the back of her head again. "I'm sorry, Sir. We can't do that, even for a king."

"WHAT?! Rrgg..." the king fumed. He clenched his teeth and let his fists tremble by his waist. His wife, standing right next to him with her right hand on the handlebar of the double stroller with their two children in it, placed her left on her husband's right shoulder.

"Dear," she said condescendingly, "don't let it get to you. Let's just go."

The father looked down disappointedly at his feet. He sighed and shook his head. "Alright," he moped. He knelt down, grabbed one briefcase for each hand and did as his wife told him. They turned around and started walking around the airport once again. Upon walking around and strolling around, they found themselves exchanging words with one another. "It's just irritating," the man said. "We were supposed to leave the day after the day Mario and Luigi got back, but ever since, it's been nothing but foul-ups."

With both hands pushing the stroller along, the queen said, "I know, dear, but things just don't always turn out the way you want them to."

"I know, but-" They were walking down some of the halls of the place a little more when suddenly something caught the attention of the king. He stopped in his tracks and looked up. His wife stopped, too.

"Dear, what is it?" she asked.

"Look," he said, pointing with a briefcase to one of the monitors hanging from the ceiling for the viewing pleasure of the travelers that were in this vicinity, waiting for their respective flights. "It's the aliens again."

"Oh, my goodness!" the queen elicited. The two of them, with their children, strolled up closer to it and were in the premises of an area with many seats arranged for all the waiting people. The father set the bags down beside himself so he could stand and watch two anchors go at it with eachother. Mike T. and Nosey T. were back with a vengeance.

"-And that's just the beginning of it! Let's go over to Nosey T. who is with one of the resident Ravens of Lava Lava Island right now, inquiring about the aliens. Nosey?" Mike said, sitting in front of his trademark counter with those papers in hand. The image in the upper, right-hand corner took up the whole screen again.

"Thanks, Melony," Nosey said. He was on top of a big mass of leaves growing out of the top of a rather large tree. He was standing right next to one of those little Ravens that witnessed the big fight earlier. "So, Rodney, what have you got to say about the U.F.O. that left your island just a little while ago?" He shoved the microphone into the Raven's face.

"Caw cawww," the Raven said, with an annoyed look on its face. Then it lightened up and continued with its story. "Caw caw caw caw caw caw cawwww."

Nosey took the microphone back so he could speak into it. "Roberto, everybody! Back to you, Megan."

"It's Mike. Also, our little Raven friends don't seem to be the only people with alien troubles. Now we're going over to those koopas to see how they're doing. Nosey?"

"Thanks, Muck," the other Toad said. He was standing next to Kammeron, the Magikoopa, again. Their castle was looking significantly better. "So, Karmie, what comments have you got to say regarding the aliens?"

"It's Kammeron," he grumbled. "We were in the middle of reconstructing our base when suddenly we saw this U.F.O. flying over our heads. It was giving off all these strange lights and sounds. It looked like it was headed for the north. Also, when it came, this strange flower popped up out of nowhere." Kammeron pulled up a plant that consisted of a big, pink ball surrounded by petals of bug wings. "We think it may have been because of the ali-"

"-Another fascinating story! Back to you, Mucus."

"It's MIKE!!" said the flustered news broadcaster. He arranged the papers in his hands some more and went on. "But that's not the end of it, folks! Let's go over to a local resident of Dry Dry Desert and see what HE has to say about Unidentified Flying Objects and other oddities. Nosey?"

"Thanks, Macabre." This time, Nosey was in the middle of the baron, hot Dry Dry Desert, standing and sweating before a little mouse man clad only in some traditional white headgear specifically designed for warding off the sun in such a place. He was beginning to strike up the conversation with one hand on the microphone and the other one wiping perspiration off his face. "PHEW!!" he said. "Well, it most certainly is hot here, isn't it, Mr. Mouse?"

"I think the weather's just fine," the mouse said.

"Okay, well enough about that," Nosey said, panting and feeling drenched in his own sweat. "What have you got to say about the U.F.O.'s? Seen anything strange flying in the sky lately?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. A little while ago, I was in this desert, when suddenly I saw this snake of green ooze flying through the air. If my navigation skills are correct, then it was headed for the north."

"That's, uh, fascinating. Anything else you'd like to say? Anything about that big spiky thing behind you?" Nosey said, feeling unbearably cooked while pointing to a colossal figure in the background that was pink and covered in gigantic needles.

"Oh, that's the Pokey Mommy," said the mouse. "Or rather it WAS the Pokey Mommy. I'm not sure what happened to it, but it's dead now. Maybe the aliens got to it?"

"FASCINATING!!" Nosey blurted, beginning to fry. "Back... to you... M-" He couldn't finish his sentence. He passed out and his microphone picked up a heavy THUMP sound.

The camera showed the mouse looking down at him. "Um, are you okay?" he said.

The T.V. returned to the image of a bewildered Mike T. He looked away from the upper, right-hand corner of the screen with his jaw open and his eyes blinking. He cleared his throat and got the show going again. "Well, uh, it looks as though the aliens have a lot to do with a lot of things at the moment. This may be a pretty gruesome time for us, folks. Just remember to lock your doors at night and keep your children away from strangers."

"Amen," the king and the queen said simultaneously.

"Anyway, we'll return to you with more news bits after a short break. I'm Mike T.," he wrapped up. The camera moved away from him, and then started showing various other images with a female voice narrating.

"Coming up next, after a short encounter with some evil clowns, is Gana Village really free?" The screen showed some of the civilians of that place walking around as though nothing special was really happening. "What strange occurance could have caused the moon to change its shape?" They showed a round moon against a starlit sky. "And could the aliens have even victimized the underwater city of Marinotropolis?" The image was of a bunch of mermen floating around in that strange place. "All this and more when we get back." At last, the program cut to a commercial break. The royal parents were stuck thinking it over.

"Well," said the king, "it sounds like the aliens are causing all kinds of problems, huh?"

"I know," said his wife. "It's kind of troubling, isn't it?"

"I suppose," the king said.

"They've definitely been in the news a lot lately," the queen said.

"Indeed."

In the stroller, Luigi turned his head to his left and gave his twin brother a questioning look. Mario simply shrugged his little shoulders. The queen remained looking pensive. "Dear?" she asked.

"Yes?" the king responded.

"You don't think those aliens are planning something... bigger than this, do you?"

"I wouldn't worry," he said. "We've got other things to concern ourselves with..."

"Actually, dear, I wanted to talk to you about that, too," the woman said, lowering her voice.

"About returning to Mario Land?" the man asked.

His spouse nodded. "I know a way we can get back..." The king looked at her with his face saying that he was puzzled by her words. Then he looked at the base of her ponytail and saw something glimmer. He looked back at her, baring a serious expression.

"No," he whispered.

"Yes," she insisted. The king kept looking serious. He started pointing his eyes in the direction of his feet while digging his fingers into his palms and whincing. Finally he looked up.

"Alright," he conceded. "But we have to be careful about this." Behind them, walking through the halls they were in earlier was a fair amount of Toads, Koopa Troopas, and Goombas, all of them with various forms of luggage to haul around. There were also security guards here and there keeping their eyes watchful.

"I know," she said. The two of them left the area with the luggage and the babies and continued walking amidst the crowd, doing their best to act as though they weren't plotting something dubious...

* * *

Kammelina and Kammeo were underwater. However, they were not wet. Hovering around beneath the waves, the two of them had themselves surrounded by magic spheres of air so they could breathe and explore the sea at the same time. 

"How much longer 'til we get there, Kammelina?" Kammeo said.

"Be patient, dear sister. We're almost there!" Kammelina said.

"Whatever you say, Kammelina," Kammeo griped. They continued hovering through the water. Not much happened as this little journey continued. Down below, there were plains of sand, boulders, and branches of coral coiling out of the ground, and all around them there were various schools of Blurps and Cheep-Cheeps swimming along. It wasn't anything special. They trekked onward and onward, until finally they could make something out in the distance. The ground they were floating over evolved into a cliff. Somewhere beyond that, their destination could be seen. It was a collection of oddly-shaped buildings, like a bunch of glass bubbles, pipes, and spirals. "Kammelina," said Kammeo, "is that it? Up there?"

"Yes, Kammeo," said her sister, "that's the- YYEEEKK!!" Kammelina jolted backwards on her broomstick at the sight of something horrendous.

"Sister, what's- OH, GRACIOUS!!" She saw it, too. Just when they were about to hover over the cliff and down to the city, a gigantic monster about the size of a killer whale floated up out of nowhere and right in front of their faces. It even looked like one of those killer whales, too, except its skin was grey and nowhere near as smooth. It had two fins sticking out of either side of it, a dorsal fin, and the traditional fish-like tail that whales tend to have. However, its head was something completely different. It had a long, ugly face complete with a snout and a pair of tusks sticking out of its lower lip. On top of its strange head were two big, pointy ears. Since this beast bore a resemblance to what exactly it was they were looking for, Kammeo could conclude that they had found their pig. "Sister, look!" she said. "We found it! The Marinotropolan swine!"

"Yes, yes, dear sister. Now all we need is its blood! Then we'll show our enemies who's the boss." Kammelina pulled out her wand with her left hand and a glass jar with her right. "Now let's do this!" she declared. She raised her wand above her head, right beneath the wall of her bubble, and saw that the underwater pig was staring at her and licking its chops. "Hungry, huh?" she said. "Well, then, EAT THIS!!" The jewel in her wand glowed brightly, and then she swung it forward. The trio of a square, a circle, and a triangle pierced right through her bubble, causing the sphere to jiggle a little, and exploded against the right-side of the beast. The animal only jolted and grunted. It glared at the witch. Her face was awestruck. No blood was seeping from where she struck. "DARN IT!!" she fumed.

"Trouble, Kammelina? Allow me!" Kammeo said. She pulled out her wand, raised it into the air, let its tip glow, then swung it forward and fired. That, too, resulted in an explosion that only irritated the monster, and didn't leave any visible mark. "What the- Nothing works!!"

"Of course, something works, sister, you're just not trying hard enough!!" Kammelina retorted. She raised her wand up like before, but let it glow for a while longer, until it started getting blindingly bright and even shaky. She was concentrating, and concentrating when CHOMP!! Her wand vanished. She gasped, and held her hand before her face with it flipping left and right while looking frantic. Then she looked up and saw some type of ruby sticking out of the creature's fangs. It was swimming away from her. "OH, FIDDLESTICKS!!" she yelled.

"Don't worry, sister, I'm going to turn it into something that will bleed easier!" Kammeo reassured, getting her wand ready.

"NO, YOU INSOLENT WENCH!!" Kammelina screeched. She flew as fast as she could up to her sibling, made their bubbles collide into one another, and swatted her wand aside just when she thrust it forward. The swirling shapes it fired ended up spiraling in a direction that was completely not in that of their target.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU FOOL?!" Kammeo shrieked.

"Don't transform it into something else, you idiot!! It HAS to be Marinotropolan swine! HAS to!!" Kammelina argued.

"So my techniques aren't going to work this time, hm? Fine, then, sister; have it your way. Make it smaller, or something, so we can have an easier time of it!" Kammeo argued back, simultaneously ridiculing and offering a suggestion to the other witch.

"Well, dear sister, I really wish I could, but that thing ATE MY WAND!!" the other witch retaliated.

"How could you have let it eat your wand, sister? Did someone forget to take her careful pills this morning?"

"Nevermind that!! The point is: we have to go after that thing now. Not just so we can remake our potion, but also so that I can get my wand back. Understood?!" Kammelina clarified.

"Fine, fine. It's always gotta be YOUR way, doesn't it, sis? Let's just get this overwith," the transformation-oriented one grumbled.

"Indeed," Kammelina said, being glad she won another volley of arguing statements. With that out of the way, they started looking around.

"Now, where do you suppose that pig went?" Kammeo said. Things definitely weren't starting to look up for the duo...

* * *

The king and the queen along with their stroller of children were creeping slowly along with their eyes darting here and there. There were people walking in various directions and among places all around them, but they were hardly things to worry about. The person they worried about most was that gigantic Koopa Troopa over there with a black shell, sunglasses, and his arms folded. They had to be careful about this if they wanted to get back home without incident. At some point, the large guard's attention was stolen, causing him to look to his right. Their window of opportunity was open. So the king hissed, "Now!!" and the family of four slammed themselves shut behind the door of opportunity. For a second or two, all was pitch black. Fumbling around, the grown man was able to find a switch and flip it on. They found themselves surrounded by mops, brooms, buckets, spray bottles, cans, and the like. They were in the janitor's closet. "Alright. Time for some action." The king said this and his wife nodded. She turned around, held two fists out, closed her eyes, and started letting something strange escape her lips. 

_"Yu dohm setu pidma ney poh pihed;__  
__Ewush yuda gew way."_

The magic words had been spoken. The queen opened her eyes, put her hands down, and her hair-tie began to sparkle and shimmer even more. In front of her, a disc swirled into existence. Floating in mid-air was a big circle with stripes of red and blue swirling around a black hole that centered the hole thing. They could feel their hairs and their clothes getting caught in the void's vortex. The king was looking a bit nervous. His two sons were looking puzzled. Their mother turned around, bent down, curled one arm around Luigi and held him close, and did the same thing with her right arm and Mario. She held them tightly, turned around, and gave some instructions to her significant other. "Alright. Don't let go of those briefcases. On three, we jump in. No matter what, don't think about anything but Mario Land, otherwise it'll toss you elsewhere. Ready?" The male one nodded. "One... two... three!!" The command was let loose. The parents jumped up and into the strange hole. It swallowed them up, and immediately after doing so, began to close in on itself. Then it dissipated and the janitor's closet was vacant once more. A knock arrived at the door.

"Anyone in there?" a voice sounded. The knock came again. "Hello?" said the voice again. Then the knob turned and a Koopa Troopa with a blue shell and a mop walked in. He saw that the light was on and that a double-stroller was in there for some reason. The Terra Pin scratched his noodle, still looking around. "Stee-range," he mumbled. "I thought I heard voices in here..."

* * *

_...When someone says, "I'm sorry," you say..._

_"...Don't worry about it,"_ Xoshi responded. All that walking paid off. The two of the Yoshi and the knight had arrived at the base of the mountain. Before their eyes awaited a train station. Its trademark transportation device and its Toad in uniform were both in their respective places.

"There it is, Sir Xoshi," White Rose said, pointing to the wheeled machine. "Once we get on that train, we'll be in Toad Town in no time."

"Then what we waiting for?!" Xoshi replied, excitedly. His companion nodded. The two of them wasted not another moment. They walked through the gate, over the train tracks, around the corner, and onto the platform. Soon, they were before the Toad and ready for requesting.

"Going to Toad Town, folks?" he asked.

"Yes, please," White Rose answered.

"Alright, then. Hop in!" the Toad said. A door opened on the side of the little, red train, and the pair of travelers walked right on. Xoshi stood in a spot nearby the engineer and White Rose went to the back of the train so he could be surrounded by metal railings. The door closed up and the engineer started talking.

"Just sit back and relax, folks. This train's headed for Toad Town!" he said. After that, the machine's gears started going, its wheels started turning, and another component was spouting out star-shaped clouds into the air. It began to glide along the tracks, and get a few more steps of the journey out of the way.

While on that mechanism, watching various rocks fly by, Beel had to bring up something important. _Xoshi,_ the spirit said.

_Yes?_ he said back.

_I have to tell you how to use my powers,_ he got as a response.

_Oh, yeah,_ Xoshi said. _Hey, wait a minute! Where were these instructions like a few hours ago, huh?!_

_I couldn't have given them to you then. Remember what happened on the boat?_

A lightbulb brightened. _Oh, yeah..._ Xoshi felt a little sheepish. He got over it. _Well, Beely, lay it on me._

_Alright..._ The lecture began. _All you have to do is close your eyes, relax, make a cross out of your arms with your first two fingers pointing, and think about stars and everything that has anything to do with them. Galaxies, nebulas, asteroids... Think about them. You will become infused with a powerful form of energy. You'll know once this happens. Trust me._

Xoshi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made the gesture that Beel described. _Like this?_ he thought.

_Exactly, only don't try to cast any spells right now. It wouldn't be called for._ Xoshi opened his eyes. White Rose was behind him on that other part of the train enjoying some solitude with his arms folded, but the engineer beside him was giving him a look with one eyebrow raised. Xoshi put his arms down.

"What was that?" he asked.

Xoshi had to improvise. "Nothing," he said. The engineer looked at Xoshi a little longer and got back to work.

_So, Beel,_ the Yoshi thought, _what happens after I get that energy?_

_I'll tell you... It's rather complicated, though, so you'll have to pay close attention._

_Okay._

_Alright..._ The lecture continued. _It goes a little something like this..._

The Star Warrior resumed the explanation as the train barreled even further down the road. Toad Town was just a few hours within reach...

* * *

The Mario royal family was flying at an incredible speed all the way through a tunnel of red and blue, getting closer and closer to a light coming from a hole at the end of it. The king thought of trees, hippos, and mansions, while the queen thought of pumpkins, amusement parks, and turtles. Mario and Luigi could only think of how freaky this whole experience was. They remained against their mother's chest who was still clinging to them for dear life. The father had a similar grip on the briefcases. They were by his side the whole time. The white light got more and more within proximity, appearing to grow larger all the while. Finally, it engulfed them and the next odd occurance could happen... 

A grassy field with trees consisting of bunches of leaves shaped very strangely was at peace. A light blue Yo'ster with sunshades and bare feet was passing through. Then he saw something crawling out of nothing. In mid-air, a portal opened up, and a man and a woman carrying briefcases and babies were spat out. The portal closed up, and the family started looking around. The Yoshi was extremely confused.

"Ahhh," the king said, inhaling deeply, letting even his nostrils enjoy the glory of their homeland. "It's good to be back."

His wife looked equally relieved. Mario and Luigi were just muddled. "Well, dear," she said, "let's head on back."

"Alright," he said. After those statements, they got the show on the road again. They walked away from where they landed and never even noticed that this highly questionable activity had just been witnessed.

"Why, oh, why," the witness moped, shaking his head. "Why doesn't anything ever make any freaking sense anymore?!" A kick to the ground and a few more grumblings later, the ticked off Boshi returned to wandering aimlessly. Unlike a few other people he might have known, he had no idea what to do or where to go next. The journeys of him and the family went on...


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**  
William had fallen asleep. His mind and body were both in a state of pure peacefulness. His pleasant dreams dragged on until he felt a bony hand rubbing his right shoulder. His somber moment shattered and he was back in a dark room beneath the covers.

"Come on," Oceanus said. "We have to go see the minister."

"Don't I get to eat breakfast first?" William protested.

"Food's an entirely different matter. Now get up," she insisted. William turned to his right. The woman removed her hand, and he could whince at her disturbingly thin body once more.

"Don't I need to get dressed first?" he asked. Oceanus reached behind her back and pulled out a small stack of some familiar clothes. William saw them and gasped. "My pajamas!!" he said. Without hesitating for a single moment, he snatched them out of her grasp.

"Meet me outside," the woman instructed. After saying so, she left the room, leaving the boy to do what he had to do. She waited beside her door in a sanctum not within the premises of her personal sanctuary, patiently letting the boy take his time. Finally, he opened it up and found her right where she said she would be. He also noticed that where he just was was one of many rooms on the second floor of a mostly wooden building. Each of the doors were along a wall and together seemed to all be a part of a larger room that was shaped like a square. He could see the first floor through the bars of a railing separating the rectangular hallway they were then in from the pit that showed it. One side of this railing had stairs leading down to it. He may have caught a few glimpses of one or two hooded figures that vaguely bore resemblances to the woman he was with. The entire place was visible only thanks to some light coming from unknown sources, probably including the sun. At some point, Oceanus pulled out a very familiar object, being mostly composed of black and green. William gasped again.

"My sword!!" he said. He tried grabbing it like he did with the clothes, but Oceanus pulled it away from him, causing him to stumble and have his arms catch nothing but air. He staggered back and said, "Hey, what's the big idea?! Gimme back my sword!!"

She returned her perpetual dead look. She kept her right hand resting on the sword, letting its tip balance against the wooden floor so she could lift the index finger of her left hand against her lips in a gesture to invoke silence. William shut up, but continued glaring. She put her hand down and said to him, "You will get nothing if you act that way."

He remained glaring at her for a few seconds more. Oceanus looked back with solemn eyes. "Fine," he said. "I'll behave. Now can I have my sword back?" Oceanus didn't respond. "Please?" he added through gritted teeth. She looked at him for a second, then shifted the sword his way with a movement of her right hand. He snatched the handle with his right hand and wobbled uncomfortably while trying to get it to point upward. Adding his left hand to his grip only helped a little. Finally, he got it in the position he wanted. He scanned its strange blade, taking in its unusual appearance again.

"You don't know how to use it," Oceanus stated.

William looked at her once more, bearing an angry face again. "What do you mean, I don't know how to use it?! What's to know? You just kill stuff with it," he argued.

Oceanus stared some more at him. Then she turned around, and began walking while using her right hand's pointing finger to make a certain movement in order to signal that he should follow. William scowled a while longer, then started holding his weapon with both hands, making it point downward, and began to carry out the unspoken order.

Together, they walked past a few more doors, took a left, went down the stairs, turned around, and started walking towards another doorway. As they were passing by, William got a few looks from two people that looked unquestionably like fellow organization members to the female that was guiding him. They pretty much wore the exact same cloak as her, but they wore it differently. The few seconds William had to look at these guys back informed him that they also seemed to have the same grey skin, white hair, yellow eyes, neck bolts, stitches, and black fingernails, etc. He could also tell that, unlike Oceanus, one of them, partially thanks to his platform shoes, was really tall and muscular, and appeared to have an almost block-like head. Other attributes of his guise kind of portrayed that not all of his limbs were in the correct shape or proportion, almost as though some of them didn't belong to him. The other guy was way shorter, but had a very ugly, misshapen face, horrible teeth, and a dome-like back that stuck up way farther than his head did, making it look as though his neck and shoulders were actually sticking out of his stomach. These few observations caused William to quickly reach the conclusion that it was probably a good idea to stick closer to the hooded person he actually came close to knowing. Their walking carried on.

They found themselves in another room first, then going up another flight of stairs. The group of two passed another second floor of rooms, but continued up more stairs. The third floor didn't appear to be as large as the others. Beyond, they could see a lone door in a wall a ways in front of where they were. Oceanus lead the boy to that door and stopped. He stopped, too, and they started looking into eachother's eyes again.

"Behind this door is the esteemed Minister Zelm," she exclaimed, maintaining an unblinking gaze all the while. "Be respectful." William didn't say anything. She raised the bony fist of her right hand and knocked three times.

"Come in," they heard a voice say. William's eyes widened by the sound of it. Carrying out requests, Oceanus turned the door's knob, and pushed the portal inward. They were in an office. At the end of the room, there was a desk with two chairs in front of it and an old man behind it. The elderly person was sitting down and sliding a drawer back into its place. As another apparent member of the group, he looked very much like Oceanus and the other two guys William saw, except that he could barely make out any of his facial features. He could tell this man's cloak covered his somewhat wide body and a good portion of anything above his eyes. They were droopy and yellow and his nose was incredulously big and long, but a large, bushy white beard that seemed to cover his entire chest obscured what other components his mug might have consisted of. To William, there was not a single cheekbone, mouth, or chin. There weren't even any eyebrows. He just saw hood, eyes, nose, beard. The aged individual folded his hands, and placed them before him on his desk. "Ah, Oceanus," he said. William couldn't believe his voice. It was very deep and authoritative, like a god's. Whenever he spoke using such a thing, his enormous nose would scrunch up back and forth. "Is this the boy?"

"Yes, my lord," she replied. William's fingers squirmed around the sword's hilt, unconfidently.

"Very good," the minister said. He lifted one hand and slid it through the air to his left, gesturing to the chairs. "Have a seat." His two guests obeyed. Once they got themselves in their respective sitting positions, Zelm put his hands in their original placement and got the conversation going. "So, boy," he said, looking at the youngest person in the room without blinking, "you are wondering who and what we are, and what you are doing here, correct?"

William looked back, feeling less anger than he did before and more anxiety. His sword was laying across his lap. He strummed it, nervously. "Um, yeah," he said.

Zelm cleared his throat. "Indeed," he elicited. "We are the Death Sickles," he started, "people of the Forbidden Forest, masters of many arts, elitists of elimination." William's eyebrows rose at the sound of Zelm's introduction. The respected man continued. "For ages, it has been our sworn duty to train by all means necessary for the day of the return of the Twelve Gods of Chaos: beings of mercilessness and mayhem, horror and sin, unforgivable atrocities." William's eyes were just as unblinking as those of the other two people. He listened with interest while Oceanus listened with no emotions. "Such monsters can only be stopped by people with courage, people with strength, people with wisdom. People who know honor from deceit, bravery from cowardice," Zelm listed on. "Life from death." Now the boy was more confused than interested. This man was creating questions rather than answering them.

_Then why do you need me?_ William thought to himself. Zelm's lecture went forward.

"Therefore, dear boy, the Death Sickles is not a group that will allow in any commoners from off the streets. No," Zelm explained, shaking his head. "In fact: they do not join willingly. They are chosen." William started looking quizzical. "They are people with minds that are clouded by false ambitions. Dreams and aspirations breathe lies to them. They are shrouded in darkness. We give them light. They are blind. We give them sight. They are deaf. We give them ears." The elderly minister leaned forward, coming closer to William. "You, dear boy," he said, "are one of them."

William suddenly bore an angry look. "What are you saying?! I'm not stupid! I know what I'm doing!!" he protested. Oceanus slowly turned her head to her right to glare at the kid. He didn't notice.

Zelm closed his eyes and shook his head once more. "No, you do not," he stated. He opened his eyes. "You think yourself an individual with all the correct ideas in mind, with all his priorities in order, with his head on straight." William scowled but Zelm remained calm. "Wrong," Zelm said. William furled his brow even further. The old man continued. "We know what you don't, boy. We know that there is something you seek. Something that rages deep within you that your mind has not discovered nor will admit, like lava beneath the planet's surface." The young listener gradually drifted his head away from the geezer's face, tilting his own with a gaze as though this bearded person had gone insane. "Boy," he started again, "you have a sword for a reason. The river carried you here for a reason." The young one blinked at the minister in wonder and confusion. "Fate," he said. "Fate brought you here. Fate will make you master that blade. Fate will make you defeat the Gods of Chaos." The lectured one's eyes widened at the sound of these words. "Fate," Zelm continued, "will make you a Death Sickle."

William blinked hard and became maddened. "Why?! Why do I have to become a Death Sickle?! What if I don't want to, huh? What then, huh?!"

"Not wanting to does not change the fact that you have to, boy," Zelm retorted. "Do you think anyone here is a Death Sickle because they wanted to be? Do you think Oceanus, here, wanted to be a Death Sickle?" He gestured to the woman with his right hand. "Do you think I wanted to be a Death Sickle?!" He slapped a hand against his chest, but his beard was in the way. William grimaced at the old man foully. Zelm slowly leaned further back into his seat. "Let this be your first lesson, boy," he said. "Noone in this world truly knows what he desires. In order to truly become a Death Sickle, you must first clear your mind of all wants, all frivolous needs." He tilted his head slightly forward. "Let them all go, boy," he said, "and accept your fate."

"I can't accept my fate," William argued. "I can't do it!!"

"By saying that you 'can't', do you mean that you are incapable of doing so, or that you refuse to do so?" William didn't answer. Zelm went on. "Either way," the minister exclaimed, "it is unavoidable. You will join us. You have no say in this..."

Zelm's words were heavy. William felt as though there was a wall of steel blocking his path that he had to break through, but just couldn't. So he sat in that chair with that sword on his lap, looking at his feet, scowling all the while. The other two people in the room looked at him without moving or closing their eyes, even for a second. The vicinity was overwhelmingly silent. Then the moment was broken. William clenched his eyebrows down even further, grabbed a tight hold of his sword, and leapt into a standing position atop his seat. He looked ready to cut the old one down, but noone seemed alarmed. Oceanus looked grumpier than usual, and Zelm remained calm. "RRRAAAWWWGGHH!!" William screamed. He leapt through the air with his arms twisting to his right, having his sword behind him in a position so he'd be ready to swing downward. Zelm simply lifted his left arm and pointed its palm at the boy. BBAAAMM!! An explosion suddenly erupted right in front of William. His sword flew from his grasp as he was slammed backwards through the air. "AAUUGGH-UMPH!!" William stopped soaring as soon as he hit the door. He plopped to the ground, and started lying there, curled up in agony with his eyes shut and his throat groaning.

Oceanus had her head turned so she could see the downed boy behind her. Her facial expression was bored again. Zelm watched in a similar manner. Finally, he got out of his seat, and walked towards the one he had just fallen. He stood before William's aching body with his robed arms folded. "We will not kill you," he said, "but we will make sure your mistakes will be things you won't ever forget." William began struggling to get back onto his feet. He looked up at the man in pure hatred. Zelm looked down at him back. "And that, my boy," he voiced, "is a punishment far worse than dying." William glared back at the man, eyes ablaze in fury. He slowly looked down, letting his fists clench and his blood become lit on fire. He closed his eyes and let his loathing run its course. Zelm spoke up. "Now arise," he ordered. "Accept your fate..." Hearing those words, William finally forced himself to get off the wooden floor and back onto his feet. He looked down, not wanting to make any more eye-contact with someone he so abhorred. "Tonight at midnight," Zelm said, "the ceremony will begin. You will be there. You WILL become a Death Sickle." Once again, William remained silent. Zelm finished up his instructions. "Be prepared."

William wasn't sure if he was going to be. He felt like he was being given his last few hours of life before his execution. He wondered what exactly Zelm meant by, "The ceremony." He wondered if his desires were really false all along and if it were evenly remotely possible to just throw them all away and accept the fact that he was no longer going to get to be the person he always thought he was. With his head hung low and his spirits sinking, he rolled it over in his confused head. _Why me?_ he thought. _Why can't I just go home and not have to worry about any of this? Why do I have to go and kill twelve god things, anyway?i The boy had been in cheerier moods. iI don't like the look of this,_ he mentally spoke to himself. _I don't like it... at all..._

* * *

Tessa stared out the window. The strips of land that were far below the Kame Cruiser were in brighter colors this time as the sun was finally out. Since that discussion she had with Annabyss, she had been getting a lot of thinking done. She had thoughts that were happy, sad, and angry. Some of them revolved around the past while others revolved around her current situation and what could eventually happen. More specifically, she thought about how she had always lived under the roof of her parents. She thought about how until Annabyss had come along, she was stuck beneath the dome of some mad scientist with a bird that probably should not even exist. She thought about what the shapeshifting woman had told her about the Madscikoopa. She thought about his greedy and vengeful personality traits. It even occurred to her that the man was probably trying to pass off his want to kill those evil clowns as a favor rather than a way to fulfill some of his own selfish ambitions.

That would have been the same thing as lying. Lying was most definitely something Annabyss disliked in addition to stealing. She probably disliked a lot of things, all of which were things she knew very well. Tessa also took into consideration that this woman she was with was undoubtedly someone older, wiser, and more experienced than her, and maybe also even her own two parents who had watched over her since her birth. Then again, so had Annabyss. It was possible she had watched over thousands of other people as well since she was supposedly somewhere over 300 years old.

That was something else for the girl to ponder over. She and her family had never really been that religeous. Perhaps that was part of the reason why "skeptical" eventually became a word that could describe her. Whenever anything new and seemingly impossible would come along, she would find quite a lot of trouble coming to believe it. She also thought about how there were most likely people out there that were more in touch with their spiritual sides than the Ices had ever been, and, as a result, felt less as though there were some kind of void in their life worth filling up. She figured she had one of those, and maybe it was time she cast aside her disbelieving ways and move on in order to solve such a problem. She figured this silhouette-like woman could help her do it.

In addition to that, she thought this woman might as well be that person to assist her in such a time of need. She reached this conclusion judging by her shapeshifting powers and whatever other abilities she may have possessed that would have allowed her to say, without being contradicted, that she was the one individual in the world that could release it from its darkness.

At first, she was not really aware that the world was suffering many problems like Annabyss said. She thought about what the woman had told her. About the Magikoopas, the ghosts, the ooze, and then some. What the older person didn't have to tell her was something she came to realize on her own during her mental discussion. She discovered that she, without a doubt, was not lying. This was made true by the fact that on occasion Tessa would hear things about war going on in between other nations, starvation occuring in some countries, and various criminals that are always giving the law something to chase down. Such things never really got to Tessa, but then again she had never really been given a reason to just sit down and think things over so thoroughly. It came to her that perhaps the world in actuality was nowhere near as blissful as it may have once been. Annabyss probably had a story up her sleeve about a time of peace just as she had one of war.

That, and she thought that she might have also become a bit too selfish herself as well as too skeptical. One other thing about her was how she never exactly knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. The only thing that seemed to give her any clue was this vague vision she'd occasionally have of herself as a lonely housewife caring for one or two children, not unlike her own mother. Her mother's mother was like that, too, as was her mother's mother's mother, and so on, if she recalled correctly. She reasoned that if everyone became lonely housewives, then everyone would die and cause their races to go extinct. That most certainly would have been something else Annabyss would not have wanted. She figured if she would have decided to go along with this woman's plans, she would not only help herself and the rest of the world, she would also bring honor to her family. Mom would be proud, dad would be proud, Will would be proud... As a matter of fact, practically all of Gana Village would be proud. Maybe they wouldn't be the only village that would be proud.

Not only that, but she would also get to see the world. She also considered how the only bit of it she had ever really seen consisted of that village she had been confined to her whole life, that dome, and whatever she got to see in between the two places. She figured along the way, she'd expand her thoughts and become a stronger person like Annabyss said. Like her, she'd probably also become wiser and more experienced. She figured she'd even be able to do some favors for lots of other people as well.

She thought about how the woman had not lied to her even once. She thought about how she seemed to have some kind of keen understanding of right and wrong even though she had rather odd methods of showing it. She thought about what she did for the Kamenstein Bros.. She remembered hearing that, like the stork, they, too, were products of genetic engineering. She remembered hearing that that was a bad thing. Her reasoning allowed her to think that maybe transforming them into something that wasn't created by a mad scientist really was doing for them a favor. She figured they'd probably be able to find paradise that way rather than some place where soulless creatures wind up. They seemed happier this way, anyway.

She also felt she had to study this Annabyss. She had to follow her around and learn more about her ways. Saying some of the things she says and doing some of the things she does, she felt would help her accomplish such a task. She felt as though even by thinking about Annabyss she was becoming more enlightened. In reality, she felt like she would be getting a lot of things done by going with Annabyss and the Kamenstein Bros. on this big mission, and multi-tasking has always been one of her favorite things to do. Besides: living by the unfair rules of her parents and the annoying tendencies of her little brother were starting to get to her, anyway. Even if they weren't, one way or another, life with them would only improve once she returned.

But weren't they worried about her? Weren't they wondering where she was, what she was doing, and whether or not she was okay? Should she turn back and check up on them? These were the things she was contemplating at that moment, sitting in a seat of the Kame Cruiser, looking out the window at a landscape lit by the morning light. Her complicated mental activity continued. That is, it did until Annabyss got up from her seat, walked out of the cockpit and into the room with Tessa in it. She glided to the front of the seat next to her. Tessa took note of her presence. She turned her head away from the window and gave her a subtle smile for about only a second. Annabyss bowed her head with her hands folded in front of her.

"Good morning, dearie," she said to the girl. "Did you sleep well?"

"No, I didn't," Tessa replied, lifting her left hand and using its little fingers to smush out any unpleasant feelings in her left eye. "I was too busy thinking."

"Thinking about whether or not you wish to go with me?" Annabyss asked.

"Yes," Tessa answered.

Annabyss shook her head. "You don't have to lose sleep over it, dear. Sleep is important," she said, caringly.

Tessa nodded with her eyes pointed below. Then she shifted them upward so she could look Annabyss in the eye. "What about you?" she asked.

"I don't sleep. Ever."

Tessa's eyes widened in shock. She was being skeptical again. "You're kidding! Don't you get tired?"

"No, dear, I do not," the woman responded.

"But..." Tessa started. "But... how can you do that? That's impossible!"

"It's not if you're an Anuboo," the shapeshifter said. "And I am the Queen of the Anuboos, afterall," she added, placing a hand over her chest again.

"Oh," Tessa said. She got a flash of deja vu, remembering how her brother was able to summarize this new woman using something along those words. Tessa was wondering something else. "Um, question," she said.

"Yes, dear?"

"How are you the Queen of the Anuboos? I mean, aren't you supposed to have, like, a bunch of servants that all look a little like you, or something? What happened to them?"

Well," Annabyss said. She lowered her head. She picked it back up again. "I used to have many servants, dear, but they're all gone. They all went down during the war 300 years ago."

"Oh," the girl said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I will bring them back," Annabyss exclaimed.

Tessa bore a confused look. "Wait, you're gonna make zombies out of them??"

Annabyss shook her head. "No, no, dear, not like that at all. Anuboos can be born only once people have had their hearts reached. I shall do that for them," she clarified.

Tessa's head slowly drifted to her right, almost wanting to have another look out the window. She turned it back quickly to look at the older person again. "Wait," she said. "Where exactly are we going, anyway?"

Annabyss turned around and strode over to the opposite window to the one Tessa had. The Anuboo came between the seats on the other side of the plane and the wall in front of it. She looked through the window with her hands folded. "We are going to Uaurpe," she said.

"Uaurpe?" Tessa said.

The woman of royalty nodded. "Yes, dear, Uaurpe. It is a continent to the north," she explained. She turned her head around so she could look at the younger person. "You know of Isle Delfino and its Shine Sprites, correct?" she stated.

This seemed somewhat familiar to Tessa. "Yes," she nodded.

"Isle Delfino is maintained by those magical little things, but they are not the only ones of their kind," Annabyss went on. "While Isle Delfino has Shine Sprites, Uaurpe has Super Sparkles. They can be seen floating around on seldom occasions. They can be used for peace and harmony..."

"I see," Tessa said.

"However..." Annabyss added.

"What?" the girl asked.

"They can also be used for lying, cheating, and stealing," the other conversationalist explained. "Such actions are punishable and are currently being performed by seven different felons over there. That is unacceptable. The people there are under serious amounts of oppression. Wishing for their own demise, some of them are even beginning to commit suicide."

Tessa looked puzzled. "What's that?" she asked.

Annabyss turned her entire body around, facing away from the window. "They're so desperate to escape their problems, they kill themselves."

The youthful one's eyes widened and her hands covered her mouth in shock. "That's terrible!!"

Annabyss nodded, gloomily. "Indeed," she said. The woman waltzed closer to the girl like before. "Power can be a very dangerous thing, Tessa, but it can also be very beautiful. If I can overthrow those seven criminals and get back the Super Sparkles..."

Tessa took a wild stab. "Then you'll be able to return peace to the world?"

Annabyss nodded. "Yes, and my people will return as well."

"Well," Tessa started, "I guess I can see what we'll be doing, then."

"I suppose," Annabyss responded. She had to say something else. "Does this mean you'll be coming with us?" she inquired. Tessa was making little circular movements with her head. She didn't know how to answer that. "Still thinking?" Annabyss guessed.

"Yeah," Tessa said. Her hands suddenly found themselves clutching at her groaning stomach. "I'm hungry, though."

Annabyss nodded. "Of course, dear." She turned around and glided into the doorway of the cockpit. "Wario, Waluigi," she called out, "it's time for a break."

"Ja, Madame," they said. They saw a place to rest and started swooping down to it. Annabyss returned to the area with the seats.

"Don't worry, dear," she said to the little girl, "you'll be fed soon enough..."

Tessa nodded. The place that the Kamenstein Bros. were headed for was a set of buildings constructed in the middle of a big, floating piece of rectangular wood that was colored blue. Although, eating was probably going to be but one of the things Tessa was going to do there...

* * *

"Oh, that does it, you conniving son-of-a-"

"KAMEK!! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT PICKING ON BOWSER?!"

"Now, dear, he has to toughen up! GO GET 'IM, SON!"

"Don't tell him that! He still has to heal up!"

"No, he doesn't! I'm telling you, Helga, I'm-"

"Man, scwew you guys. I'm outta here!!"

For the most part, all was peaceful in a certain mansion filled with paintings, sculptures, and other works of art. Such peacefulness was being enjoyed somewhat immensely by one particular Koopa Troopa with a green shell. In a somber tone, he slept on one of the couches in a large room where masterpieces could be made. The couch was covered by a white cloth and it was in the same area where an odd discussion took place earlier, but still he snoozed away without a care in the world. Odd murmurings escaped his lips.

"You sure like Maple Syrups, huh?" he mumbled to himself. "They say you could win one really nice prize..."

"What could I win?" This new voice that the Terra Pin heard had nothing to do with his unconscious situation. With the moment ruined, he blinked his eyes a little, rolled onto his right side, and saw a green face with a big snout and beady little eyes staring back.

"Oh," uttered the shelled servant, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How goes it, Master Bowser? You been being a good boy?"

"Yup!" Bowser responded. "But what could I win?"

The waking one shifted his way up into a seating position rather than a lying one and looked into Bowser's eyes while squinting. "Pardon?" he asked.

"You were sayin' some stuff about Maple Syrups and dat I could win somefin'," Bowser explained. "What is it?"

"Oh," said the servant. "Well," he began, holding his chin with his right hand, "the company that makes Maple Syrups has made one particular bottle of the stuff with a note in it saying you've won. If that happens, you get a really nice, fancy type of item, or something, delivered to you. Probably has magic powers. Probably worth a lot of money."

"Dat's pretty cool, I guess," Bowser said.

"Yeah," said the other conversationalist. "So, how are you feeling? Are you ready to take on those Marios?" asked the lesser turtle.

"Yeah, I guess. Papa thinks I am, but mama doesn't. It's confusing!" said the young descendant of royalty.

"Yes, parents can be like that sometimes," his sympathizer exclaimed.

"Yeah," Bowser said, bearing an unenthused facial expression. Suddenly, a voice called from beyond the door leading to the massive room.

"BOWSER!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! IT'S TIME FOR ROUND TWO!!"

Bowser turned his head around to yell back. "COMING, PAPA!!" he replied. He returned his face to that of his fellow visitor of the mansion and said, "I gotta go. See ya!"

The little troublemaker was about to run off, but he was stopped. "Wait! What's going on? What's this all about?" asked the uninformed guy.

"I'm showin' Kamek who's da boss. Bye now!" Bowser said that and wasted not another moment. He scurried off and left the other person in the room by himself. He then started hearing yelling, screaming, and other sounds that only seemed to faintly ring a bell. He shrugged it off, got back on his left side, and closed his eyes...

* * *

"Hm, I see," Annabyss said. "That's quite fascinating, boys."

"Ja, Madame," said the Kamenstein Bros. The four of them and little Tessa were in a restaurant in the sky. In one booth, the two of the twins were sitting side-by-side from across Annabyss and Tessa. The younger one got the window seat. While the boys were in the middle of consuming a couple of plates of the steamed garlic platter, Annabyss was eating nothing and Tessa was just having some waffles. The boys were eating in perfect synchronization while the girl was just barely nibbling away at her meal. She hardly ever looked up from her helpings. Annabyss got to say something to her.

"Tessa, dear, you've been awfully quiet. Anything on your mind?"

"Well," Tessa elicited. She let the one-syllable word drag out and hang in the air. She hovered her fork above her morsels in contemplation. "I've just been thinking," she said, "about how boring and unfair my life's been."

"Yes?" Annabyss responded.

"My parents and my brother... They can be annoying sometimes, and I know they love me deep down, but I think they'd understand if I just went away for a while to do some really good things for lots of people. Everyone would be proud of me, and I'd become a better person," she explained. Annabyss listened intently. The Kamenstein Bros. only started eating slower and exchanging glances from time to time. The girl's speaking carried on. "Plus, I'd get to do some of the things I've always wanted to do, like see the world and all that stuff."

"Yes," the older woman agreed. Tessa elaborated further.

"And I think I know what you mean when you say that sometimes you just have to do a few bad things if you want to do some good things," she clarified. "Like this one time my brother accidentally broke a vase. It was about the billionth bad thing he did in a row, and he did it anyway even though he knew mom and dad were going to kill him if he did anything like that ever again. When they found out, I took the blame, and they went easy on me. My brother thanked me."

Annabyss nodded. "See, dear? That's what I'm talking about."

"Yeah," Tessa nodded back. "And besides," she added, taking on a subtle smile and some pink beginning to fade into her cheeks, "if you've got all these magic powers and you've known me since the day I was born... that makes you kind of like my guardian angel, doesn't it?"

Annabyss laughed. "That's an interesting way to put it, darling," she said. Tessa kept smiling and blushing. "So is this it? You've made up your mind?"

Tessa nodded. "I'll go with you," she declared. "I don't think they'd mind."

The woman closed her rainbow eyes and nodded once more. She opened them up and said, "You've made the right choice, Tessa dear." Tessa smiled and blushed some more.

"And, um," the girl added, "I'm... sorry I got mad at you earlier, Miss... Annabyss... ma'am."

The older one nodded again. She said, "Apology accepted, dear." The little one remained red with pleasure and embarrassment. "Just one thing," the strange silhouette spoke, "call me Annie, will you, dearie?" She gave a wink to the girl after saying that sentence.

Tessa giggled. "Alright... Annie," she concurred. The woman lifted one black-and-white arm and used it to pat the little girl on the head a few times. Tessa seemed pleased by this as well. Wario and Waluigi saw this, looked at eachother, grinned, and gave eachother the thumbs-up. Then they continued eating.

"Now finish your breakfast, dear," Annabyss said. "Uaurpe won't get to itself, you know..." Tessa laughed at her remark and did as the woman said. She simultaneously got back to work on her consumption and her waiting for the big departure...

* * *

William and Oceanus returned to their room. William went first and commenced standing in the middle of it with his sword in his right hand and his eyes looking downward. Oceanus went second. She closed the door behind them and strut up to a location his back was facing. She took note of his soft-spoken and unmoving mannerisms. "Questions?" she asked.

William didn't respond right away. For a few seconds, he continued staring at the floor. Then he turned his head around so he could get another dead glare from the female Death Sickle. He turned it back around so he could resume performing a similar gaze to what he had before. "What Zelm said..." he started.

"MINISTER Zelm," Oceanus corrected.

William stalled again. "What Minister Zelm said," he tried once more. Oceanus said nothing. "Is it true... that noone here is a Death Sickle because they wanted to be?"

Oceanus stared and said, "The new people always ask that question."

"Well, is it?!" the boy said, turning around and facing her, head on.

"It's true," Oceanus replied. "Noone is here because they want to be. It's because they have to be," she explained. "Such is the way of fate."

"Fate, fate," William grumbled, rolling his eyes. "What's the deal with fate, anyway?"

"Fate will only allow the best and brightest to battle the Twelve Gods of Chaos," Oceanus responded. "You're one of them. You should be flattered."

"Tch," William spat, giving the floor a kick. "Were YOU flattered?" he asked.

Oceanus maintained her unsettling gaze, complete with her eyelids not budging one bit. "Yes," she said.

William gave her an angry stare. She wasn't affected by it. He turned to the his left and started using his right arm and its hand to make swinging movements with his nice, new blade. It made a few whooshing sounds, and then he stopped. He turned to face Oceanus again. He noticed she was sulking over to her desk again. She let her bony fingers grab a hold of the chair and she set herself in it again. She picked up a quill and a parchment and got back to work on something as she did the night before. "Oceanus," he said. Her quill stopped moving. "These twelve god things... One of them isn't named Annabyss, is it?"

Oceanus did nothing for a moment, then her quill started scribbling again. "Not one," she said. "No."

William held out his arms exasperatedly with one of them still clutching the weapons at its handle. "Then who is she?!" he demanded.

"You tell me," Oceanus answered.

William put his arms down. "She gave me this sword," he exclaimed, holding up said gift and examining it like before. "She told me to use it to... vanquish evil..."

"Then why all the resisting?" Oceanus asked. She desisted the writing and turned around. Giving the boy one more dead look, she spoke another few words. "You knew all along why you had that sword. No God of Chaos would ever give such a thing to you. Now stop whining and ACCEPT your FATE." William acknowledged her statements with no verbal comment. Instead, he glared back at her, boiling with anger as usual. She stared back for a while, until she finally turned back around and returned to her work. William continued his fixed gaze on the woman before making his feet rotate himself. He started meandering over in the direction away from the Death Sickle and to the bed from before. He dropped his sword, let it clang against the wooden floor, heaved himself onto the covers, and buried his face into his folded arms, lying flat against the cushy surface. Oceanus stopped her writing once more to turn around and check up on the boy. She interpreted his position as a gesture of anger, frustration, confusion, and despair. She spun back around so she could continue her work.

_Baby,_ she thought, coldly. Getting done with another page, she moved what she had completed aside and got started on a fresh parchment, letting the tip of her quill have a dip in its inkwell first. _The new ones are always like this,_ she pointed out. _Always..._


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**  
The train had finally arrived at its destination. It slid its way between a few fences of black and white stripes, and then it stopped at a station similar to that of the one Mt. Rugged had. Xoshi and White Rose hopped off it, were given regards by the two little Toads running the vehicle, and they could continue their journey on foot.

While letting his rubber shoes take turns landing in different places against the white pavement of the town's ground, Xoshi couldn't help but notice as he walked along that this place was much greener in contrast to that of the yellow desert they had finally exited. The decrease in temperature this place took on was also a huge relief to Xoshi. At last, he could be surrounded by cool, refreshing air and kind people that came in various rainbow colors, not unlike the Yoshies of his homeland that this place faintly reminded him of. Toads of small and smaller sizes were what they walked between on their way to their big destination. Such a place was exactly what Xoshi had in mind. He talked to Beel some about it, and let his mouth do the rest.

"Um," he stammered. White Rose looked at him. "Shooting Star Summit... here... right?"

White Rose nodded. "Yes, Sir Xoshi. It's here. It's a bit of a walk from here to there, though," he cautioned.

"Okay," Xoshi said. Expecting yet more delays, and probably also accepting them, the brown Yoshi shut his mouth and continued trudging along with the desert-themed knight beside him...

* * *

Nap time was over. Therefore, Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David decided it was time to wake up, leave their peaceful area, and head on through the woods of Kariboo Island. Upon embarking on this little hike of theirs, a question or two had to start emanating from what Snifit called a mouth.

"Hey, Shy Guy," he asked the gigantic brute, "what do you know about Kariboo Island, anyway?" he asked.

"Well," said the muscle man, "I know it's where Goombas are native to."

"So we might see some Goombas here?" Snifit guessed.

"Heh, you'll see a lot of 'em," Shy Guy said back.

"I heard they weren't liked much," said Chak.

"That's only because there are too many negative stereotypes of them," David informed. "Stereotypes are not to entirely be trusted ever."

"So," Snifit evoked, "we'll be seeing some nice ones?"

"Yeah, they're pretty nice, I guess," Shy Guy responded. "But, hey, don't take my word for it..." At that moment, the quartet was at last out of another collection of rough shrubbery and vegetation and into one more vast opening. "See for yourself!" Shy Guy responded once they were in such a new location. This one consisted of a fair-sized village composed of strange buildings coming in rectangular shapes with somewhat trapezoidal roofs and circular windows. Their inhabitants, the supposedly good-natured Goombas, were walking around here and there. They mostly came in brown, just as their houses did. However, one of these buildings was grey, more fortress-like, and particularly bigger than the others, and the Goombas, themselves, were sulking everywhere, dragging their feet wherever they went. They had blank, emotionless expressions on their faces. The four travelers observed this new place with intrigue and a little concern. They emerged from the island's batch of trees and went on walking until they reached a sign that read, "Welcome to Goomba Grove." A brown Goomba with an uninspired look appeared from behind it and shuffled to a place in front of the group.

"Greeeetings, travelers," the Goomba said with about as much enthusiasm as a rusty doornail. "Weeeelcome to Goooomba Groooove."

"That's what the sign says!" Shy Guy pointed out. Snifit gave him another weird look. The grey guy took his gaze off the beefy one and took another moment to observe this Goomba. He didn't seem to be acting any different from all the other mope-oholics in the village. Some of them were just meandering down the streets slowly as though there were invisible metal balls shackled to their ankles, the littler ones were very hesitantly and tiredly playing hopscotch, and the elderly ones were on their porch-swings being more sluggish than usual. Chak and David exchanged worried glances. Snifit returned his eyes to his muscular companion.

"So these are the so called nice Goombas you were tellin' us about?" he asked.

Shy Guy shrugged his big shoulders. "What's up with you guys?" he said to the Goomba before them. "You're not as cheery as you were the last time I was here."

"The Goooomba Kiiiing," the Goomba started. "He repealed some laaaaws. Now everyday at noooon, we don't get to see funny shows anymoooore..." he explained in a mournful tone.

Chak looked at Shy Guy. "Shows?" he inquired.

"Yeah," the giant said. "Each day, these people gather in the middle of town to see some shows get put on by comedians, and magicians, and whatnot. That's what kept 'em going, I guess."

"But they don't have those anymore, and now you're all sad?" David spoke to the Goomba.

"We still have shoooows," he corrected. "They're just no fun anymoooore."

"Ah, so that's why you're like this," Snifit guessed.

"Noooope," the Goomba said, while shaking his head in slow-motion. "I'm allllways like thiiiis." Snifit placed a hand over his eyes, Shy Guy kept his huge arms folded, David blinked in disbelief, and Chak scratched the side of his deformed face. "I hoooope you enjooooy your staaaay..." the Goomba worded. He then began to shuffle his way back to where he came from until he was once again an unseen person hiding behind the welcoming sign. The group stood in silence, which complemented the mood of the town in a way. Then Shy Guy unfolded his arms, smacked a powerful fist into a palm, and started talking again.

"Idea," he declared. The other three looked at him in wonder. "We go to that big grey building over there," he pointed to that very architecture in the distance, "and we complain about this. Once we do, the Goomba King will admit he was wrong, and this village will return to normal! Come on, what do ya say?"

Snifit gave him a befuddled look. "Why do we have to do that?" he asked.

"We don't have to," David chirped. "It would just slow us down. I'd like to be an adult again as soon as possible, if you don't mind. Besides: this isn't our problem, anyway."

"True, but if WE won't do it, who will?" Chak said.

"That's right!" Shy Guy agreed. "These people need our help! They're countin' on us to bring back their funniness!"

"No, they're not," Snifit argued, his head shaking with his arms folded.

"Come on, guys," Shy Guy urged. "It's just a little bump in the road! We'll get through it! It won't even take that long. We go see the king, talk to him, return everything to normal, everybody's happy, and we move on. That's all there is to it! It's not like that treasure's going anywhere, anyway."

"Well, maybe, but..." Snifit said.

"Come on!!" Shy Guy urged, his fin-like hands curling into things resembling fists in front of him and jiggling as his eagerness continued. Chak looked at David who had an unsure facial expression and was scratching the back of his head.

"Fine, fine. Let's just get this overwith," Snifit conceded.

"Alright!" Shy Guy cheered.

David spoke up. "Well... I suppose it wouldn't hurt too much."

"YES!" Chak said.

Shy Guy rubbed his hands together, enthusiastically. "Then it's settled! We're going to see the Goomba King! Come on. Let's go!" He pumped his arms and got the march going again. Chak was the first to start following. Snifit and David stayed behind for a few seconds to exchange unsure glances. Then they started to walk after their humungous leader as well.

* * *

Raphael stood in the very same area he did when he promised to all the Yoshies of Lava Lava Island that he would win their home back from his corruptive brother. He fulfilled that promise, and so the occasion just happened to be a rather special one. He stood there with the new guy and the cowardly guy, Yoshi and Fyooshi, right behind him. That one dark orange Yoshi that the easily-frightened one took note of earlier was there, too. The four of them waited patiently for the moment to ensue. A periwinkle-colored Yoshi approached the heroic fowl with a black one and a white one behind him who were similarly being followed by a maroon one, a goldenrod one, a cerulean one, and a lime-colored one. They arranged themselves neatly before the new ruler, bowed, and did as they planned.

"Raphael," said the one up front, "we sincerely thank you for all that you've done for us. Words cannot express the joy you've brought unto us, the citizens of Lava Lava Island. Therefore, we have taken the liberty of preparing for you a symbol of our gratitude..."

"Please," Raphael said. The Yoshi that just spoke to him looked a bit surprised. "There's no need to be so formal. This is Lava Lava Island, the tropical paradise! Let's just relax. I need to loosen up, anyway." The oversized bird ruffled his feathers and gave his head a quick shake. Still a little bewildered, that certain Yoshi stalled and blinked a bit, then continued talking.

"Yes, well..." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, we're really grateful, so we'd like you to have this." He stepped back and let Ren's duo of former-fanners walk forward. They were holding a nicely detailed little statue of their savior. It was a very good-looking little object, complete with all the shines and smoothness one could ever ask for. The thing was made of a certain hard material that was very pretty and teal all over. Surely the Raven would have enjoyed this. Yoshi, Fyooshi, and the other guy were definitely impressed. Raphael seemed to be gazing at it in an equal amount of admiration. The periwinkle one went on. "We worked all night making this for you, Raphael. We hope you like it."

Raphael looked at the reward, then at the Yoshi offering it, and then at the others behind him that were all smiling approvingly. He smiled back, looked ahead of himself, and responded at last. "I'm flattered," he said. "I really am. But..." The Yoshies, both in front of him and behind him suddenly started looking at him with concerned faces. "But... Really, I got the island back for you so you wouldn't have to make statues anymore. I mean..." The group of Yoshies that were offering this to him were beginning to droop in disappointment. Raphael searched for the right words. "I appreciate the gesture," he said, "but I'm afraid I can't accept this. I'd be no different from my brother."

The periwinkle Yoshi fidgeted with his hands. Then he said, "So... Should we just... get rid of it, then?"

Raphael shrugged. "Do with it what you will. Just please... Don't make anymore of them, even if your leader goes insane and forces you to." He got a few laughs from his visitors by saying that. The periwinkle one scratched the back of his head and walked around the two Yo'sters that were holding the statue. He took it from them in spite of its heaviness.

The Yoshi turned around and said, "Alright then, Raphael." He then walked past him and up to Fyooshi. The magenta-colored scaredy-cat looked shocked. The other two Yoshies looked confused. "Here you go, Fyooshi," said the guy that just approached him. "Why don't you have this? I guess you deserve it anyway. I mean, if it weren't for you, Raphael wouldn't have been able to come back, right?"

Fyooshi was speechless. He nervously let his hands massage one another as his eyes switched back and forth between looking at his new prize and the person offering it to him. "Um, sure. I guess so," he agreed.

"Good," said the other Yoshi. He held the statue out even further and Fyooshi extended his arms. The reward got lowered into his appendiges which sagged a bit as a result of the weight. He grunted slightly as the periwinkle Yoshi went back to being in front of Raphael. The black and white Yoshies had stepped back to allow this. "Well, Raphael, we just wanted to thank you for saving us. And don't worry, we'll take your advice. We won't build anymore statues, even if we have to." He and his followers bowed to the hero after that. "Anyway," he said, "you take it easy. I guess we all should, huh?" Raphael nodded. "Well... We'll be seeing you!" Finally, the clique waved to the big, feathery man, turned around, and walked away from the scene. Raphael smirked in satisfaction. He turned himself around to address his three companions.

"Well, everyone," he said, "it's been long enough. I'd better be heading back to the tree. And Fyooshi," he said to the statue-holding guy, "thank you. Thank you for sticking with me to the end."

Fyooshi blushed. "Ah, it was nothing," he said, modestly.

"Watch over the village while I'm gone," Raphael said. "And if you ever need me... just give me a call... Okay?"

"Sure thing," Fyooshi nodded.

"Alright. Over and out!" said the enormous Raven. He nodded to the Yo'ster trio, and they let him pass. At last, he shuffled his way out of the vicinity and back into the jungle. The three-some watched him disappear slowly into the ornery obstacle course of greenery. After letting his departure sink in, Fyooshi turned around and looked at Yoshi. The other dark orange attendant walked up beside the statue-holder. Yoshi was muddled.

"Anyway," Fyooshi said, "this is my friend, Glishy. We've known eachother for a long time now. He's gonna help you figure out what the heck we're all saying!"

Yoshi didn't understand a word of that, but then the dark orange Yoshi started saying something. "He just introduced me," he said. Yoshi's eyes popped wide open. He wondered if he had gone crazy.

"You speak Yoshish?!" he asked. The new interpreter nodded.

"It's one of the languages I know," he said. He made a movement with his hand. "Come on," he requested to the green Yo'ster. "I'll show you what I mean." Glishy started walking off in one direction. Shortly afterwards, Yoshi began his pursuit. Fyooshi called to his old friend.

"Good luck, Glishy!" he said. "I'll just find a place to put this, alright?" He bobbed his newfound statue up and down with his arms. Glishy just waved to him. Not too long after that, Fyooshi got going as well. He walked in what was pretty much the opposite direction of where the other two had went, leaving the area that was previously occupied by so many people to be left all alone. Still, scattered throughout the village, the Yoshies wandered about, minding their own businesses and worrying over nothing that could ruin their day. Lava Lava Island began its first day of peace...

* * *

Down the road, the four of Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David wandered. Beside them and all around them were more strange houses and people that were dangerously low on motivation. Snifit had to ask another question. "Hey, Shy Guy," he asked, "what exactly do you suppose these new shows they put on are like?"

DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! A huge bell started ringing. All the civilians of the village stopped what they were doing, left their houses, left their yards, and started walking in one direction. It seemed to be a little to the left of where the group was headed. "Let's find out!" Shy Guy insisted. Chak nodded at this proposal, but once again, Snifit and David weren't too sure about this. Soon enough, they were back to following their two partymembers.

In time, a nice crowd of little brown Goombas had made it to their big gathering place: a big square-shaped patch of grass with a wooden stage built in the middle of it all. The red curtains were still covering it up and the bell was still sounding. After making it between more homes and down more roads, the courageous four-some had finally joined with the rest of the people. Unfortunately, they were way in the back so their view was a bit obscured. Shy Guy, being the supremely tall one, had no trouble with this, of course. With his arms folded, he could see perfectly well that the curtains were beginning to be pulled back once the bell stopped ringing. "Yyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay..." the Goombas groaned.

"What?" David asked. "What's going on? I can't see a damn thing!!" he complained.

"That's some pretty rough language for such a little boy, Davey," Shy Guy commented.

"Quiet, you," David demanded. He started hopping up and down, only catching glimpses of what was to be seen by doing so.

"Here, lemme help you," Shy Guy said. He unfolded his masculine arms and used his right one to reach over to the boy and grab a hold of the back of his collar. Effortlessly, he lifted the child up into the air. His arms and his legs were flailing, furiously.

"Hey! Put me down!!" he protested. Shy Guy ignored the order and set him down so he'd have a seat behind the back of his neck in a position that had his short legs hanging past either side of the big man's head. Shy Guy got a hold of those legs with each hand. "What is the meaning of this?!" he argued.

"You can see now, can't you?" Shy Guy said. Indeed, he could. The crowd was still mumbling as a Goomba in a black tuxedo walked onto the middle of the stage. All of this could be seen above the Shy Guy's cranium thanks to his service.

"Hmph," David grumbled. He watched the spiffy-looking Goomba stop in the middle of the stage and face the audience.

_It's bad enough I look like a child,_ David thought. _I don't have to be treated like one, too._

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the Goomba to the viewers. "Today, we shall show you a tale of good battling evil. A tale of the hard-core struggles that were faced in order to form these lands and the founding fathers that fought for it all."

"Oh, brother. Another history lesson," Chak heard a bored Goomba mutter.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the main speaker said, "Presenting... The Tale of the Shy War!" He took a bow and walked off the stage. The audience let loose another moan of a not very excited cheer, and the show began. Four Goombas walked on. They were each clad in red robes and their faces were hidden by masks very much like the one Shy Guy had, except one of them had a big white mustache.

"Look, Snifit! It's us!" Shy Guy said excitedly.

"Great," Snifit mumbled. "They're gonna make us look like idiots. I know it."

A disembodied voice with a very bored tone to it started telling the audience what exactly was going on. "It all began with the formation of a certain cult... or something like that..." the narrator said.

"Actually, that's about right," Snifit said quietly. The show continued. The Goombas dressed like 8-Bits started acting like they were talking to eachother. The narrator continued discussing this.

"They called themselves the Shy Gang," the voice said. The four Goombas did a dramatic pose. "They decided if they could bring the female monster, Tondariya, back from the dead, they could take over the world and do whatever they liked."

"That's totally not right," Snifit pointed out.

The Goombas pretending to be 8-Bits nodded to eachother and walked off the stage. Then four more walked on, but these ones weren't dressed in anything. They had beady eyes painted on their white stomachs and their faces were red with white spots. "Once the Super Mushroom League heard of this, they decided to take action." The four Goombas representing the Super Mushroom League nodded to eachother and walked a little more. Then the four Shy Gang Goombas walked back from where they disappeared. The two groups spotted eachother and started acting like they were fighting. They did it very uncaringly. The Goombas would just hop back and forth. Whenever one of the Shy Gang ones would do so much as even just nick one of the Super Mushroom League ones, they would plop down onto the stage's floor and remain motionless as well as emotionless. Soon, all four members of the Super Mushroom League were down. The Shy Gang left. "However, overcoming the Shy Gang was a completely different matter." The downed Goombas got back up, pretended to talk some more, nodded, and walked off-stage. Then the montage began. They would walk back on along with a few other Goombas in dumb costumes whenever the narrator would introduce some new tidbit of information. "They had to team up with a magical Yoshi... A strange Raven with a unibrow... An 8-Bit with ice-elemental powers... An 8-Bit wearing a black robe... A Sackit with a grouchy disposition... And even a Koopa and the famous heavy metal band, the Demonic Jesters..."

"What the- They didn't team up with them!!" Snifit objected.

"Snifit, hush!" Shy Guy said.

"But they're getting it all wrong! It was way more complicated than that!"

"HUSH!"

The narrator continued. With a beefed-up army, the Super Mushroom League walked up to the Shy Gang, but their numbers seemed to be just as prodigious. "Then, at last, the final battle ensued." The two groups went at it, but it was basically just a repeat of the fight scene that the actors failed to portray earlier. Audience members were beginning to lose consciousness. "When all hope was nearly lost, this big, great angel showed up and invited everyone to a tea party... The Mushroom Tea Party..." A Goomba with angel wings and a halo showed up to demonstrate what the narrator was talking about.

"What in the name of Bonus Games?" Snifit grumbled.

"At the tea party, the two groups finally got to discuss their differences and sign a treaty. Then they had a toast and peace was restored to the lands. And that was about it. The End... I guess..." The curtain closed on the tea party scene. Noone applauded. They were all too busy sleeping. The only sound of clapping was coming from the way back.

"I knew they'd make us look like idiots," Snifit muttered.

"Well, that was a waste of- WHOA!!" David fell off Shy Guy's back. The muscle man let go of his legs so he could start the loud action of slapping his hands together.

"WHOO-HOO!! BRAVO! BRAVO! ENCORE! ENCORE!!" he cheered. He even started making whistling sounds by injecting his hands into that hole in his mask. WHUMP. The sound of Shy Guy's obnoxious praisings was beginning to wake the crowd up, but the sound of David hitting the ground woke Chak up.

"Hm? What was that? Has the show started yet?" the mutated man asked. Snifit was busy helping David back onto his feet.

"You alright, David?" the 8-Bit asked.

"Yes, I'm quite fine, thank you." Once David was standing again, he swept some dust off himself, and said, "Shy Guy, you'd make a terrible father." Hearing this, the big man turned around while various Goombas behind him were beginning to pack their things and go.

"Daddy, dat pway was boooh-wiiiing," they heard one kid say.

"I know, Junior, I know," said the parent.

"No, I wouldn't!" Shy Guy defended. "I'd be the best dad ever! My son would crawl up onto my lap each night, and he'd say, 'Daddy, tell me a stowy.'

"And I'd be like, 'Okay, son! Tonight, I shall tell the story of-"

"-What REALLY happened!" Snifit fumed. He looked at Chak and David. "Come on. We told you guys just the other night what happened! They, like, only had about 50 of their facts straight!"

"Which is why you should never trust textbooks, either," David commented.

"Never say never," Chak retorted.

"Well, what's it matter anyway, guys? We saw the play, now let's go!" Shy Guy said. He started walking back in the direction of the Goomba King's fortress. The others started walking as well.

"Indeed! We have yet to show that tyrant what's good for him," Chak agreed.

"Yeah, and we'll have to give him a history lesson, or two," Snifit griped.

"Noone should be forced to endure something that boring," David said.

Shy Guy suddenly stopped in his tracks. He turned around and looked at David with his overgrown arms spread out. "Boring?! Are you out of your mind?! That was the greatest performance I've ever seen!!"

"Did THEY enjoy it??" David retaliated. He gestured at the Goombas around them who had returned to sulking and walking extra slowly. Some of them were even crawling on the ground using their faces to wipe against it and their stubby feet to push themselves forward. Their spirits had not been raised in the least by this uninteresting spectacle. "Is that the kind of show you want these people to continue seeing? A second ago, you were saying it wasn't," David pointed out.

"I-" Shy Guy raised a hand like a pointing finger and was going to present his comeback, but the little kid had a good point. He put his arm down and started rubbing the bottom of his mask. "Hmmm..." he hummed. Then he shrugged his big shoulders. "Well... I guess we could reach some kind of compromise," he suggested.

"That's fine with me. Now let's go get that Goomba King!" Chak insisted.

"Alright! And then we can see what we can do about these shows!" Shy Guy declared.

"RIGHT!" his three companions said simultaneously. Then the four of them started making a sprint for the fortress. They were the most energetic people in the entire village...

* * *

SHUNK! Seven... Seven... Cherry. "Aww, darn it!!" Yazzee cursed.

_He said he'd have liked it better had the last symbol had been another seven rather than a cherry."_

In spite of the slot machine's last symbol, Yazzee was still on a roll. KCKHSQCHSHTT!! A bunch of coins spilled out of the device and a crowd cheered. Piantas and Nokis had gathered to see the yellow Yo'ster constantly break records. Beside him in the gambling center of that hotel he entered, there was a pile of bags with his name on them. He was ahead, but not quitting. He inserted another coin into the machine, took another tug at its handle, and watched the wheels spin. This was the routine of Yazee and SPOWT, and it wasn't ceasing...

* * *

"The casino? Ah, yes, sir. It's right this way."

"Good."

A Pianta in uniform stepped aside and let three floating carrot people walk through the door that was behind him a second ago. Carro, Boscis, and their ugly leader were finally at their destination...

* * *

Seven... Seven... Star. "Grrrr!!" Yazzee fumed. Regardless, SPOWT translated, coins spilled out, and a crowd cheered. The entertainment of the day had no dull moment in sight. Then the carrots walked in. Once they were at the end of the aisle of velvet ropes, the leader noticed the gigantic room was circular. It had two sets of slot machines, two tremendously oversized slot machines built into the walls, two fountains, and something that was being covered by some red curtains. In the center of it all was a humungous roullette wheel built into the ground. To his left was the place with the slot machines and the people going crazy.

"What's all the commotion?" the leader asked a nearby Pianta that worked at the place.

"Some Yoshi over there is winning it big!" said the portly empyloyee. "All he does is mumble gibberish, and he's making history over there!"

"A Yoshi? Making history? On the contrary," the unattractive carrot man grumbled. "Step aside!!"

"Yes, sir!" The Pianta obeyed. The three carrots floated over to where all the glory was being hogged. Once they reached all the rambunctious people, the pushing, shoving, and demanding got going.

"Alright, people, let's move it. Go on, now. Make way. Coming through!" the leader growled. The crowd members were a little annoyed by this intrusion, but they complied anyway. At last, the leader and Yazzee were side by side. Seven... Seven... Turnip.

"Blast it!!" Yazzee said.

"What the-" the carrot leader grumbled. It seemed that one Pianta wasn't lying when he said this Yoshi only spoke gibberish. The machine on its back started talking.

_"He said he must try again."_

"Oh, yeah? Well I say there's only room in Isle Delfino for ONE slot machine champion, and it's NOT gonna be HIM!" The crowd gasped at the leader's words. SPOWT turned its head around to translate the carrot's words to Yazzee. The yellow Yoshi was about to insert another coin, but then he turned around to look this new person in the eye.

"Are you telling me you wanna prove who's the better gambler, or something?" Yazzee said to the orange man. SPOWT translated this.

"Of course, that's what I'm saying, you loon!! Nobody upstages King Carrot. Nobody!!" The crowd was starting to get nervous and excited. Yazzee and his new enemy, King Carrot, began to stare eachother down viciously. Only time could tell exactly what was going to happen next...

* * *

The Goomba King's fortress was built atop a nice, big platform that was just as grey and brick-oriented as its main attraction. The four of Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David ran up the steps, across a stone walkway, past a few Goombas leaving the building, and burst through the double doors.

"GOOMBA KIIIIIING!!" Shy Guy bellowed once he and his group skidded to a halt. They were in some kind of reception area with a desk in one corner and a bunch of seats arranged for waiting. There was a small number of Goombas populating the vicinity. One of them was wearing a tuxedo and was right in front of the angry mob. Their serious facial expressions and poses along with their muscle power and their axe could not be ignored by this individual.

"O-ho! So it's finally happening..." the Goomba in the tuxedo said while smirking. He suddenly raised his voice and the few Goombas that were in the room scattered. "RED ALERT! RED ALERT! TERRORISTS ARE HERE FOR THE GOOMBA KING! I REPEAT, TERRORISTS ARE HERE! RED ALERT! RED ALERT!"

Shy Guy ran up to the screaming man and delivered a harsh kick into his gut. PUNT!! The Goomba went flying down the hallway. He was down for the count. However, Chak could hear a sea of footsteps coming their way from quite a few directions surrounding them. He took his gigantic axe off of his back and readied it.

"So much for the warm welcome," the axe-wielder muttered. He swung his weapon in preparation. "Let's give 'em all we got!!"

"Yes, let's!" Shy Guy agreed. He reached behind himself and pulled out a huge stone, Y-shaped weapon. It vaguely resembled something he recognized. "WHOA!! What happened to my slingshot?!"

"It got clubbified," Snifit answered. He was twisting his head around, trying to make sure he wouldn't pull any muscles in the upcoming battle.

"Whoa," Shy Guy said, examining his new and improved slingshot. "That's interesting."

"Enough chat. We've got work to do!!" David grabbed a hold of something by his right hip with his right hand and held it out with the help of all ten fingers. Shy Guy looked at his weapon of choice and was surprised. He gasped.

"David, you'll put someone's eye out with that thing!!" he protested.

"I know, I know," the little boy said. He had his pistol pointed ahead of him, waiting for the pending trouble. It came. Within seconds, the flood was upon them. From the hallway here, the hallway there, and even the airducts over their heads, the enemy Goombas rushed in. They were still wearing their poorly-done costumes from the play, but the intruders could see from a closer distance than before that they all had tattoos, missing teeth, and were in desperate need of some shaving.

"IT'S PARTY TIME!!" Shy Guy yelled. As if on cue, the dubious Goombas started lunging, kicking, and tumbling at their enemies to bite them, headbonk them, and whatnot. In return, Shy Guy started whipping cannonballs out of nowhere, placing them in his overgrown slingshot and firing away. Snifit started testing out some new techniques on the foes, Chak started swinging his axe, and David started shooting this way and that way as part of the bout.

The Goombas representing the Shy Gang tried showing Shy Guy what they were made of, but it was no use. BAM! BAM! BAM! One by one, he was able to take each of them down with some of his hard-hitting cannonballs. Each one visibly dealt damage to his adversaries. One of them got the wind knocked out of him, another got his mask to shatter to pieces, a different one got his mustache to explode into a million little hairs, and the last one got nailed in the gut so he went flying down a hallway just like the one in the tuxedo did. Once those four guys were down, it was the Super Mushroom League's turn, but Shy Guy was ready...

Snifit was taking on a mob consisting of a bunch of Goombas dressed as Yoshies, and Ravens, etc.. Like Shy Guy, this was no problem for him. This was majorly due to the fact that instead of pellets, he discovered that he could fire hoops of incinerating light at his foes. This caught him by surprise at first, but he soon adjusted. They would try their fancy attacks and their thorn-spitting maneuvers, but Snifit would just spit back. He was winning. One dressed in a blue robe and a gas mask got a brand new costume consisting of ashes and smoke, and another in a black robe and a white mask got to suffer a similar fate. This batch of fighters was taking a great beating from this 8-Bit, but still they refused to give in...

Goombas with rubber noses were no match for David. Few of them even dared to try attacking him. They were the ones that ended up with bullet wounds. Others would just flee in cowardice. They would go after other intruders, but it wasn't as though they needed the help of David's intimidatingly quickly-paced pistol. One Goomba suddenly showed up out of nowhere. He was flying through the air, in perfect preparation to deliver a spinning sidekick to the boy's face. This enemy wasn't fast enough. BANG! The tiny troublemaker got nailed in the foot. He fell to the floor and rolled to one side, groaning in agony. David remained on the look-out for more annoyances asking for a lesson to be taught...

The Goombas that David were facing were giving him a break. Instead, they decided to team up with the one dressed as an angel and gang up on the mutated one. That was no easy task, either. Assault after assault, move after move, nothing worked. The axe-wielder would simply swing his weapon horizontally, vertically, and in every other way that helped. Some blows merely clanged against the stone floor, resulting in the scattering of some grey particles from newly made marks in the ground. Others would just sail over their heads. It seemed they were more concentrated on dodging the bug's attacks than actually trying to counter them. At some point, the angel one finally managed to work up some courage and leap through the air for a head bonk attack. SHIK! SHIK! With expertise skill, the bug was able to chop off the wings of the pest. The Goomba fell to the floor in shock. Chak got another good hold of his weapon. The Goombas that were all over him started having second thoughts. They suddenly turned around and started running back through the halls where they came from.

Shy Guy placed another oversized cannonball in his transformed slingshot, Snifit started sucking in some air, David began to reload, and Chak remained poised with his axe. The Goombas didn't want anymore of this. They, too, turned around and ran off. Both Chak and Shy Guy began to lower their weapons.

"Hahaha!" Shy Guy laughed. "I guess we showed 'em, eh?"

"Perhaps we did," Chak agreed. He started to return his axe to his back.

Snifit looked suspicious. "You sure the coast is clear?" he asked.

"I doubt it," David warned. "Be on guard!"

"Indeed," Chak said. He pulled his axe back out. "They're coming back!"

"What?! Don't those idiots know when to give up?" Shy Guy fumed. He put his giant slingshot back up and readied another metal sphere. His other two companions maintained their fighting stances as well. While waiting uncomfortably for the next wave to arrive, the four of them could hear rumbling sounds between pauses and feel rough vibrations in their feet. Both gradually became more and more prominent as the clock ticked. Foom... FOOM... FOOM!!...

"What are they up to?!" Chak griped. The others were wondering very much the same thing. FOOM!!! Finally, their questions were answered. They looked up as two new enemies showed up in one of the hallways. More specifically: it was just the two dressed up as a Sackit and a Koopa, but armed with these collossal, green boots with wind-up keys rotating in the back. Their mushroom-like heads poked out of the tops of these things as they manned them, somehow. The two parties glared at eachother, and then the mayhem could ensue once more. Simultaneously, the two Goombas caused their mechanical boots to fly up into the air and come crashing down on the quartet. Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David scattered just in time. WHAM!! Clouds of dust flew from where the dangerous duo landed. The intruders were a little dizzy and visually-impaired from the blow and the dust, but tried soon to get a hold of themselves.

"Alright, you asked for it!!" Shy Guy threatened. He aimed his cannonball at the one dressed like a Sackit, and fired. Unfortunately, this was when it used its gigantic boot to jump up into the air for another attack. WHACK!! The cannonball bounced off the sole of this boot. Flustered by this turn of events, Shy Guy reached for another cannonball. But then... WHAM!! The boot crashed down hard atop his head. Feeling whoozy while the enemy was busy hopping off where it landed, Shy Guy dropped his club-like slingshot, and fell forward without consciousness.

"SHY GUY!!" Snifit shrieked. He angrily tore his gaze off the downed brute and looked at the Sackit Goomba. He was ready to fire another one of his glowing rings at the guy, but WHAM!! He got knocked out, too.

"Oh, goodness," David fretted.

"Well, it looks like it's up to us!!" Chak declared. He ran forward for the one dressed as a Koopa that knocked out the other 8-Bit with his axe held high. The Koopa Goomba took note of this, but didn't take action. Chak jumped through the air and slammed his blade into the boot. CRISSHH!! His weapon got shattered into a million pieces. He fell back in shock. "NO! MY AXE!!" he wailed.

"I'll have no more of this," David growled. He pointed his pistol at the one dressed as a Koopa. But first, he heard a grunt and a thud. He looked at Chak who had fallen unconscious for some reason. "CHAK!! NOT YOU, TOO?!" he yelled. Suddenly, the Sackit one leapt up from behind the other Goomba and landed in front of David. The force knocked him to the ground. His pistol flew from his grasp. "NO!!" the boy yelled. Suddenly, the Goomba in front of him started making snorting noises. David looked up helplessly in confusion. The Goomba fired. TSING!! David grabbed one side of his neck with his left hand. The fiend had spat some kind of little needle into it. "You..." he tried saying. "Dishonorable..." He couldn't finish his sentence. Everything got dark and his mind got foggy. Then he just passed out. The last thing he could hear before slipping away was the triumphant laughter of these two jerks...

* * *

Things were beginning to heat up at the casino. Both the crowd and the two of Yazzee and King Carrot had stepped aside for a new person to waltz into the scene. It was a blue-shelled Terra Pin in a sparkling, white tuxedo wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He walked up to the two rival gamblers with his cane in hand and two cronies beside him. One of them was a Terra Pin in a scruffy, brown suit and a dark red shell. The other crony was slightly shorter and had on a yellow shell and a T-shirt. Once standing before the two gamblers, the guy in the white tux stopped and turned around to face the spectators. His fellow gang-members turned around as well and stood beside him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," said the white tuxedo-wearing one, "let's get this contest going." The crowd began to murmur amongst themseleves excitedly. This new man turned around and looked at the two scowling gambling-fanatics. Yazzee was pounding his fist into his palm, and King Carrot was simply grimacing with his two lackeys behind him. The man started speaking again. "Here, we have two angry men. Both of which would like to show the other who's who in the world of gambling." He turned around to face the viewers. "What you are about to witness is a show of luck, skill, and mostly luck." He turned around again. This time, he looked at the yellow Yoshi. "Yazzee Yoshino, citizen of Yoshi's Island..." he said to him. He gestured to the other guy. "And King Carrot, resident of unknown parts..." He faced them both. "The first to get a triple-seven shall be the victor. In addition to this, he will get all of the money his opponent earned through all his misturns as well as his own. Until then, I, ProZD Koopa, the contest judge, will be calling all the shots. Each round, I will count to three, and you two will pull the levers. You will stop at will. This contest won't be over until it's over." SPOWT translated this to Yazzee. The two of him and King Carrot nodded at their judge's words, still bearing serious looks. "Just remember," ProZD said, "this is a contest, and nothing more. There will be no pulling of the lever before I'm done counting or you will be penalized. Also, no kicking or punching from the sore-loser will be tolerated. Understood?" SPOWT did its translating and Yazzee and King Carrot nodded. "Good," said ProZD. He walked away from the contestants. "Places eveyone!" he called out. Yazzee and King Carrot got into their respective seats before their own slot machines. They turned their heads to give some dirty looks to one another.

King Carrot snarled. "Grrr..."

Yazzee made a high-pitched growling sound. "Brrr!!"

The audience started murmuring some more and Carro and Boscis started swapping comments. "The boss is in way over his head!" Carro whimpered. "Look at that guy! He's up to his ears in loot!" The lesser carrot was referring to Yazzee's pile of money-filled bags.

"Don't worry about it," said Boscis. "The boss'll be fine."

One of ProZD's attendants, the one with the red shell, turned to the yellow-shelled one and said, "Say, Boland, which of these two people is your money on?"

"Mm, I'm not sure," said Boland. He turned to his partner. "What about you, Kohler?"

"I'm going with the carrot," said the red-shelled man. "He looks more experienced..." The one betting on King Carrot was referring to the wrinkles upon the face of Yazzee's opponent. Surely, in some way, that was a plus.

"If you say so."

_"They're betting to see who will win the contest."_

"Heh," Yazzee chuckled. "Funny... They used to do the exact same thing to Boshi..."

ProZD pulled a handgun out of one of his pockets. He pointed it into the air and began the countdown. "Ready?" he asked the contestants. They both nodded. "Alright... One... Two..." Yazzee and King Carrot both sat in their seats, waiting anxiously for that third number. Their eyes didn't blink and their grips on the levers weren't relenting. Finally, it came. "THREE!!" BANG! SHUNK! ProZD pulled the trigger, the wheels started spinning, and the crowd was going crazy. There wasn't a single soul in the room not affected by the eruption of this contest. Yazzee and King Carrot began pouring their hearts out, eager to see the outcome of this competition. Everyone watched and waited...

* * *

At first, Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David were unconscious. Everything was completely black and uninformative. Then they came to, and things started to gradually make a little more sense.

"Well," said Shy Guy, rubbing his scalp while sitting on the stone floor, "that did a number on MY noggin!"

"You're telling me," Snifit agreed. He was making similar movements and stretching his body while he was at it.

"Where are we?" Chak asked.

"In a dungeon, of some sort?" David suggested, rubbing his neck.

"Correct," they heard a voice say that wasn't too far from them. They turned their heads in the direction of where this voice sounded. "You're in the Goomba King's fortress's dungeon. Or should I say my dungeon?" The person that was speaking was a Goomba with two tufts of black hair sticking out of his face to call a mustache, a pair of pants that were striped blue and white, and a crown with a blue cushion to match atop his head. Whoever this guy was, his words seemed to clear a few things up. The place they found themselves in was just as stone and grey as the others of the fortress. They were in a four-sided room with a high ceiling and stairs leading to a door with a barred window. The four of them, in addition to this crowned Goomba, were with four more consisting of a Goomba in a white lab-coat, a Goomba dressed as a lumberjack, a Goomba with green skin and a pair of antannae, and a Clumph.

"What in the name of Bonus Games?" Snifit muttered.

"Hey, who are you people?" Shy Guy asked. "And aren't you the Goomba King? Everyone says your plays are boring."

"True," said the crowned Goomba. "They do. And yes, I am the Goomba King. Or should I say I was?"

"What happened?" David said.

"One day," the story began, "a Goomba and his gang of misfits had come to our town. They wanted to overthrow me, and they did. More specifically, they threw me and my four best actors in here. That Goomba now runs Goomba Grove pretending to be me, and his gang is pretending to be the actors." His quartet of humble servants shook their heads solemnly.

"That's terrible," Chak sympathized.

"Yes, I know," the crowned Goomba nodded. "Ever since, we have been dwelling down here, knowing that an imposter is running the show, but not knowing how to get out of here."

"Then I guess we were looking for the fake Goomba King," David said.

"Yeah, we gotta teach that guy a lesson, or two," Snifit stated.

"It's the right thing to do!" Chak exclaimed. The real Goomba King nodded.

"It's wonderful that you wish to help us," the royal Goomba replied, "but I'm afraid we're stuck here."

Shy Guy had the bottom of his mask in his hand out of contemplation. Then he removed it from its place, turned it into a fist and smacked it into the palm of the other hand. "Doc," he said to the town's former-ruler, "you just leave that to me! I know plenty of ways out of here!"

The other eight inhabitants of the vicinity all let their eyes widen at the brutal 8-Bit. "You do??" said the authentic Goomba King.

"Is there anything you don't know?" Snifit muttered, shaking his head.

Everyone watched as the gigantic Shy Guy waltzed up the stairs and stopped before the door leading to that place. "This door," he said while beginning to crack his knuckles. "I can just knock it down!" A good portion of the people in the room gasped at the 8-Bit's words and started murmuring amongst themselves.

"Now why didn't I think of that?!" the Clumph muttered.

Shy Guy stretched his muscles in preparation. He kept his eyes on the prize, readied one beefy arm, and...

"Wait!" said the Goomba in the lab-coat. With his concentration ruined, Shy Guy dropped his arm and turned around. "If you're going to knock something down, make it that wall over there!" The Goomba gestured toward his right and Shy Guy looked to his left. The other members of the dungeon were making similar movements so they, too, could have a look at said wall. "Those boots they use..." the Goomba said. "Noone can get past them." He strut over to the wall he was talking about, walking between Snifit and Chak to his left and David to his right. "If my calculations are correct, then knocking this down will lead us to a shortcut to the control room where we can cut off their power source. Then you'll be able to find the Goomba King with ease!"

With his arms folded, Shy Guy considered this Goomba's proposal and gave a questioning look to Snifit. "It's worth a shot," the grey 8-Bit said. Shy Guy nodded and descended the stairs. He lumbered over to where the lab-coat-wearing Goomba was and started preparing himself for the blow like before.

"Alright, everyone, stand back!" the muscle-man requested. Everyone took a few steps back as they were told. The Goomba that was next to him took several. Shy Guy eyed the wall carefully, then after getting himself as ready as possible, he leaned back and held up his right fist. Everyone watched in anticipation as this bodybuilder prepared for the demolition. Then he shot his powerful fist forward and CRASH!! It slammed against the wall's stone surface and caused a prodigious portion of what he had hit and what was surrounding it to suddenly give away and crumble into a pile of broken bricks. Everyone saw this in pure awe, but could only see a cloud of dust acting as the result of this destructive man's actions. Then the cloud disappeared, and they could see that a whole new door had been added to the sanctum. A cavern lied beyond that. The Goomba that told the Shy Guy to do this was more than pleased.

"Eureka!!" he shouted. "It's still here!" He excitedly scuttled up to the new door and stood beside Shy Guy. "This cave leads to two places: the Goomba King's room, and the control room. To the control room we go!!" After that, he hopped onto the pile of rubble that had been created and ran off into the darkness. The other seven members of the place got up off the floor and began to follow the calculative one's example. The lumberjack Goomba and the green Goomba ran on through. The Clumph stopped before Shy Guy to precede his action of leaving the dungeon as well.

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" the burly creature said to him. Shy Guy scratched the back of his head. "I could learn something from you..." With that, the Clumph left the place as well. Next, it was the real Goomba King's turn.

"Thank you, strong one," he said. "I feel as though hope is just around the corner. Come! We mustn't dilly-dally!" After saying this, the crowned Goomba scurried on through like the others did.

Chak went next. "You truly are amazing, Shy Guy," said the bug man.

"Aw, go on," Shy Guy said. Chak also walked through the new door. David was up.

"You're one surprise after another," the boy said. "I still think you'd make a terrible father, though."

"Hee hee," Shy Guy chuckled. Snifit looked annoyed.

"Alright, alright. Shy Guy's awesome. Can we go already?" said the grey one. The other two seemed to agree.

"Alright," said David. "We go." He walked through the door as the sixth person to do so. Snifit was about to be the seventh, but once he got onto the rubble, Shy Guy bent down and ensnared the smaller person in a vicious hug. He lifted his kicking teammate off the ground forcefully and commenced squeezing.

"Lemme go, you big oaf!!" Snifit demanded.

"Snifit... You said I'm awesome! I'm so happy," the emotional Shy Guy stated. He squeezed some more and Snifit squirmed some more. With much difficulty, the smaller 8-Bit was at last able to release himself from the musclar person's grasp, slide through his massive arms, and plop back onto the rubble. The landing was rough. He tried to shake the feeling off.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we go now?" he asked.

Shy Guy folded his arms and nodded. "Let's go!" he cheered. At last, the duo of Shy Gang-members could leave the place...

Soon after that, a group of nine was wandering through a cave hidden somewhere amidst the fortress of Goomba Grove. Walking around in the dark for a while, impatience got to Shy Guy, so he called out to the first Goomba to enter this new place.

"Hey, brainy guy," he said, "how much longer 'til we get to that control room you keep talking about?"

"It's just a littl-OOF!" While he was talking, he bumped his face flat against a rock wall. OOF! OOF! OOF! OOF! A bunch of other people ended up colliding into him as a result. That cavern was too dang dark. Once they all backed away and rubbed their sore areas, the Goomba up front got to speaking again. "This is the fork," he said. "To the left leads to the Goomba King's room. To the right is where we're going."

"Alright! Let's go!" Shy Guy said. The group started to turn to the right and head down a slightly different path in the underground vicinity. They trekked onward until they started hearing things that spelled bad news.

"HEY, THEY'RE GONE!!"

"LOOK! THE WALL!"

"Of all the- Come on. They can't be far."

Chak heard these voices from behind and put their meaning into words. "Incoming! More villains are on the loose!!" he yelled. The other members of the group started to murmur, worriedly.

"For goodness' sake," David grumbled. He reached for his gun, and got a hold of only air. Confused, he started patting around other areas of his clothes in search of the device. "What the- My gun's gone!!"

"And I lost my axe trying to fight one of those things," Chak growled. "Blast it!!"

The Goombas that used to run the town were starting to get nervous by the sound of these new disadvantages. Snifit took note of how Shy Guy was patting around for his weapon the way David had. He shook his head. Then he took it upon himself to calm the crowd. "Don't worry about it!" he announced. All eyes turned to him. "You guys just go on ahead. I've got this one taken care of!" He stepped away from the clique and started stretching. He didn't hear footsteps behind him. He turned around and noticed they were still standing around, looking at him. "GO!!" he ordered. That snapped them out of it. They started jogging to the right as they were meant to earlier. Snifit heard the sounds of their feet fade away and saw the image of the oncoming angry Goombas fade in.

"THERE'S ONE OF 'EM! GET 'IM!!" Snifit heard. The Goombas charged but Snifit just stood there shaking his head. Once they got close enough, TSSEEWW!! He used his rod-like snout to fire another one of his new hoop-shaped projectiles of energy to fry an entire row of enemies. They fell to the ground as a clutter of charred Goombas. The ones that remained standing looked at their fallen comrades and this new opponent in horror.

"This guy's too much!!" one of the Goombas complained. "We must retreat!!"

"No way! It's just a gnat and his doughnuts! How hard can it be?!" barked another one. His peers whimpered at the sound of this and the menacing look on Snifit's face. Reluctantly, they started running towards him again.

"I'll show you what a gnat and his doughnuts can do," Snifit said below his breath. TSEW! TSEW! TSEW!! More crispy Goombas were made. They were no match for this dangerous person, yet the fighting continued...

The path that the rest of the group had taken only lead to another wall. After being told to do so, Shy Guy started putting his strength to good use and unleashed it by making yet another doorway with a pile of rubble beneath it. CRASH!! After this, the nine of them filed their ways into the room that this new portal had behind it and, in the process, managed to discover exactly what they had been looking for. This new room was very cold and steril as the place was made of metal. It consisted of a huge, block-shaped machine with various blinking lights, tubes, and wires sticking out of it and a large computer-screen right next to it that stood atop a vast control panel. Before this display of buttons was another Goomba in a lab-coat sitting in a rotating chair. The team that had entered this place stood where the new hole had been made and grabbed the technician's attention. He spun around and looked at these intruders. He let out a shrill gasp.

"Who are you?!" he demanded. "What are you doing here?!?"

"Dr. Goom, I presume?" said the other lab-coat-wearing Goomba. The Clumph was looking eager. His calculative companion looked at the eager one and nodded. The Clumph got the message and pulled out his club. Everyone watched as he stomped his way over to the guy in the rotating chair. He started pleading for mercy.

"No, no, NO!!" the Goomba begged, shaking his head vigorously. "You don't want to hurt me! I'm very important! PLEASE!!"

KONK!! Too late. The Clumph brought his weapon down hard against the enemy's skull, who went out like a light. He slipped into unconsciousness, groaned, and slid off his seat. The group witnessed his plopping onto the floor, and carried their activities forward.

"Good work," said the calculative Goomba who hadn't been knocked out. The Clumph nodded back. He turned around and looked at the green Goomba and the lumberjack one. "Now you two go do something about that machine!"

"Affirmative, sir," said the green one.

"Hi-ho!" said the lumberjack one. Together, they ran up to the device and got to work. The real Goomba King began to address the three of Shy Guy, Chak, and David.

"Things are definitely looking up!" he said. The trio nodded in agreement...

Meanwhile, Snifit was busy taking note of more Goombas he had just defeated. Only two were left.

One of them looked at the other and said, "Gosh darn it!! I told you this guy was too much!!"

"Alright, alright. Plan B!!" his cohort conceded. They ran off and disappeared back into the dungeon where they came from, but Snifit remained alert. Patiently, the 8-Bit waited. He wondered what exactly their little backup plan could possibly be and expected the worst. Just when he was beginning to narrow down the possibilites, his fears became a reality. He could hear it and he could feel it. Foom... FOOM... FOOM!!...

"Oh no," Snifit whimpered. "Please, no," he begged. Whether he liked it or not, very bad things were coming to his town, and they were most likely going to bring about the most dreadful of misfortunes...

Foom... FOOM... FOOM!!... The others could sense it, too. It gave them a little something more to listen to besides the sound of hacking, firing, and exploding that was quickly introduced to them. However, this new sound didn't seem to depict that a devious machine was being destroyed. Chak and David found it most unnerving.

"Gentlemen," David said. "I fear for Snifit."

The real Goomba King turned around and looked at the child. "You're rather mature for a little boy, aren't you?" he commented. David grimaced.

"Don't worry about him," Shy Guy reassured. "He was abducted by space aliens, remember?"

"Maybe we should check up on him regardless just in case," Chak suggested.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" David asked.

"All we can do," said the Goomba of royalty, "is speed things along." He suddenly raised his voice. "HEY, YOU TWO, YOU THINK YOU COULD HURRY IT UP?!"

"YES, SIR!!" the machine's destroyers responded. Not contradictingly, the sounds of hacking, firing, and exploding started to get more frequent. However, the sound of the enemies' unstoppable weapon approaching started to get louder...

Snifit didn't dare run away. He stood and watched until the things arrived. Finally, they were there, right in front of him. Those two giant, green boots that defeated him and his friends earlier were back for more. The pair of Goombas piloting them chuckled once again. Snifit started to sweat. His two adversaries had their objective ringing quite clearly in their heads. Focusing on just that and nothing else, they prepared to deliver unto the intruder the next blow. Snifit winced, expecting horrible defeat. But then...

KABOOOOOMM!! The machine had finally been blown to pieces. Its fragments scattered all over the metallic room. Fortunately, noone was hurt. They all started cheering their lungs out in victory.

Being done with that, the Goomba King said, "Mission accomplished! Now there's only one more thing to do." He looked at Shy Guy, Chak, and David again. "You three! Go get that imposter! Goomba Grove is counting on you!"

Shy Guy folded his masculine arms and chuckled. "Wait until Snifit hears about this one," he mused.

"No more hold-ups! We leave!" said his insect-like companion. The other two concurred with this and left the control room.

"GOOD LUCK!!" the Goomba King called out...

Snifit was confused. Those boots hadn't attacked! He opened his eyes and noticed that steam was rising from them. The Goombas that were piloting them were just as confused as he was. This soon was no longer exactly how Snifit felt. He let mischievous triumph take him, and he leaned back. The two Goombas faced the Snifit and their eyes turned wide with horror. They tried ducking, but TSEW! TSEW!! Snifit spat out two more of his deadly doughnuts. FSST! FSST!! They nailed the fiends exactly where the 8-Bit wanted them to. Burnt to a crisp, they got knocked out of their seats, fell backwards through the air, and plopped down onto the rock floor as a duo of black, unmoving figures. This was the result of Snifit's little encounter with their special weapons. He performed a pirouette, and stopped himself in a position facing the fallen foes with his legs spread out and his right arm against his hip. He kissed his left hand and raised into the air. He remained in this pose for a few seconds, and then heard some loud clapping and cheering from behind him. Startled, he turned around only to find out it was just his teammates.

"SNIFIT, SNIFIT! HE'S OUR MAN! IF HE CAN'T DO IT, NOONE CAN!" Shy Guy crowed. Snifit was simultaneously flattered and embarrassed. The big one knew how to rub it in. Then the applause died down, and he added something else in a calmer tone. "Oh, yeah. And the Goomba King says the town's countin' on us. Heh heh." Snifit frowned. "Well?" Shy Guy said. "Let's go get 'im!!"

"YES! The imposter awaits!" Chak declared. Shortly after such a pep-rally, the quartet of visitors turned back around and headed on through the cave once more. This time, they took a left...

"How did you learn to do that, Snifit?" David asked.

"Eh," said the 8-Bit, "it's just like spitting out pellets, but different!"

"I see... Wish I could do that..."

Their times of spending moments in a cavern and its darkness had come to a conclusion. At the end of this dank tunnel was a ladder leading somewhere. With Shy Guy in the lead, their ascension of it could at last commence...

* * *

Seven... Seven... Snifit. Seven... Seven... Cherry.

"DARN IT!" Yazzee and King Carrot said at once.

The crowd, on the other hand, went, "OOHHHHHH!!" This contest had been dragging on long, but there was never a dull moment. Every time ProZD counted to three, he'd fire. Every time he'd fire, the two gamblers would try their luck. Every time they did, they were one symbol off. This had resulted in the formation of two extremely big piles of money-bags. King Carrot was catching up with Yazzee, but the Yo'ster refused to let that give him any doubts. The two of them had confidence as enormous and unstoppable as a glacier. Seeing that the competition was still not over, ProZD lifted his gun again, and counted.

"One..." Yazzee and King Carrot were both shaking in their boots. The grips they had on their levers were unwavering. They concentrated with all their might on listening for the third number and going for another yank. "Two..." It seemed like eternity was running its course. When was that guy going to finish counting?! "Th-" SH-SHUNK! Seven... Seven... Star. KST-KCKHSQCHSHTT!! The two of them had jumped the gun and got the same outcome. More coins spilled out of their machines.

"DARN IT!" they said again.

"OOHHHHHH!!" the audience said again. ProZD was not amused by this. He said something to Boland and Kohler. The two of them nodded and they each walked up to a different pile of cash. Yazzee and King Carrot had horrified looks on their faces as they watched this. Both of ProZD's attendants had just walked up to their winnings and taken a bag of it. They walked back to where the tuxedo-wearing one was. The pair of contestants were steamed.

"Hey, you, give that back!!" Yazzee demanded.

"Don't touch my money, you thieves!!" King Carrot spat.

ProZD just scoffed. "You broke the rules. You got penalized. Deal with it."

SPOWT translated this and the two robbed ones started grumbling to themselves. They had to stop, though, once their judge put his gun into the air again. For about the billionth time that day, everyone including Boland, Kohler, Carro, Boscis, SPOWT, the two gamblers, and the audience got ready for the counting. The contest continued...

* * *

A Goomba with a red crown, red and white pants, and a certain type of mustache sat in a throne before a long, red carpet. In this humungous room, the Goomba was being paid a visit by three more of his stubby servants.

"So, your highness," said the one in the middle, "what do you have in store for the next play?"

"Hmm..." said the throned Goomba. "Make it about... the time I had to get my crown waxed."

"Ooh, excellent choice, your excellence!" said the middle Goomba. "Don't worry, your majesty. We'll be sure to make it EXTRA boring!"

"Indeed," said the servant's master. The other two Goombas were nodding profusely.

"This'll be great!!" the middle one dragged on. He started hopping in place, alternating between one foot and the other. "We're gonna make it the most incredibly, unbelievably, incomparably, impossibly, horrendously, terribly, horribly, boringestly boring play in the whole, entire-"

-WHAM!! "AAUUUUggghhh!!!..." Something beneath where the Goomba was hopping flung open and sent him flying backwards out of the room. The remaining members of the area looked at where he had flown and what caused him to do this in astonishment. It turned out he was standing on a hatch and that a huge Shy Guy had forced the thing open.

"PHEW!" he grunted. "I thought this thing would NEVER come off! It was like someone was standing on it or something!" The three Goombas exchanged weird looks. Suddenly, a lightbulb turned on. Shy Guy pointed to the one on the throne. "Hey, you're that Goomba King imposter guy, aren't ya?"

"SHY GUY, MOVE IT!!"

"Alright, alright. Hold your horses." Shy Guy crawled out of the hatch and onto the red carpet. The two Goombas stepped back, and the three of them and their superior watched in even more confusion as three more people came into the room using this strange entrance. Shy Guy, Snifit, David, and Chak stood in a row before the felon.

"'Bout time," Snifit grumbled. He and the others swept themselves off. Snifit looked at the fake Goomba King and pointed. "Alright, buddy, listen up!!"

"Your plays are boring!!" David said.

"They were so boring, I fell asleep before they even started!!" Chak added.

Shy Guy scratched the back of his head. "Um, I personally liked them, but-"

"-WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING JUST STANDING AROUND HERE?!" the fake Goomba King suddenly shrieked. The pair of Goombas he yelled at suddenly jolted themselve attentive. "THESE PESTS DON'T BELONG HERE!! DO SOMETHING!!"

"Yes, s-" KONK!! Thud. Before they could carry out any orders, Shy Guy and Chak had used a leg and an arm to deal heavy blows to their brown heads. Two more enemies had been defeated. The fake Goomba King was alone.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" he screamed. "INTRUDERS!! INTRUDERS, INTRUDERS, INTRUDERS!!!" The impersonator jumped up and down in his royal seat, yelling madly.

"Shy Guy! Grab him!" David ordered.

Shy Guy gave the back of his head some more scratching. "Okay, but-"

"-DO IT!!" the boy demanded. Shy Guy didn't waste another second. Reluctantly, he started striding towards the fake monarch. The helpless convict began to flip out.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME, BEAST!!" He jumped out of his throne before Shy Guy could take another step. Shy Guy sighed and let the chase begin. Desperately, the little criminal started running all over the room, making them go in squares rather than circles. Snifit, Chak, and David kept their eyes on them, cheering on their partymember all the while.

"COME ON, SHY GUY!! HE'S NOT THAT HARD!"

"GO, SHY GUY!! GET THAT SCOUNDREL!!"

"YOU CAN DO IT, SHY GUY!! COME ON!"

Both of the running ones were beginning to pant and breathe heavily. The fake Goomba King's legs had held out for as long as they could. No backup power was left in store for them. Not seeking defeat, his pace began to die down with his tongue flailing out of his mouth. Shy Guy, on the other hand, was still in his prime. He suddenly sprang up into the air, cast a looming shadow over the fated Goomba, let his eyes widen in terror, and came crashing down.

"NOOOOOO!!" the false king bellowed. FWUMPITY-WHUMPITY-WHUMP!! Shy Guy slammed into the king, grabbing a tight hold of him in the process, and went tumbling across the stone floor. Shy Guy landed on his feet and turned towards his comrades who ran up to the squirming Goomba Fake. "You won't get away with this, fiends!! You'll be sorry you messed with the great and all powerful Goomba King!!" the imposter wailed.

"Can it, you loon!!" Snifit ordered. The con continued struggling in Shy Guy's powerful grip. David got the lecture going.

"You're a shameless, unscrupulous, dishonest bigot!" the boy insulted. "Do you know what you've done to these people? You've turned them into a bunch of poor, unmotivated souls who drag their feet wherever they go! Have you no grasp of what's right or wrong??"

Chak went next. "You no-good, selfish buffoon! How dare you take away these people's entertainment?! It's the only thing that keeps them alive and you've taken it away from them!! Why would you do such a thing?!"

"I did it..." the false Goomba King grunted. "I did it... because I love power!!" His four accusers widened their eyes at this remark. He started squirming less in Shy Guy's hold. "I love power. I love wearing a crown and sitting in a throne. I love having a big fortress and keeping a million people under my thumb!!" The others were making sure to hear him out. "I love being able to have complete and total control over their emotions. All it takes is a few measly plays? Pah!! I could make it about grass growing, and they'd STILL watch it!!" He started catching up with his breath, and he ceased his struggling in Shy Guy's arms. After he finished panting he continued. "I even love wearing these stripey pants!!" After the speech, the five people in the room kept silent for a few seconds. All that could be heard was the power-hungry Goomba's faint breathing. Then Snifit broke the silence.

"Do you love history?" he asked the fake Goomba King.

"I loathe it," he responded.

"Good," Snifit said mischievously. He walked a little closer to the Goomba and everyone else had their eyes on him, cautiously. Snifit took a deep breath. A very deep breath. He held it for a few seconds, and then let a river of information spill from his mouth very quickly. "During the Shy War, the Super Mushroom League was forced to face the Shy Gang alone, which means that they did not seek the help of Naji or Razule or any of those people, although they did all have their own intentions that were all in one or way or another, more or less, related to the real crisis at hand which was about the bringing back of a GODDESS, not a female monster, named Tondariya, who wanted to make the world a better place in the eyes of the leader of the Shy Gang, the exalted Shy King, who is now dead, along with many others as a result of a very unusual occurance that happened near the end of this war thanks to a certain individual with a clouded background, but if there's anything that can be truly confirmed, it's that the Shy Gang, the Super Mushroom League, the Demonic Jesters, and all those people could be anywhere right now, doing anything, which is probably none of your business, and that is what REALLY happened, you informationally-challenged imbecile!!!" Snifit panted, but the others still stood like statues without blinking at the history-oriented 8-Bit. After catching up with his breath, Snifit got to say something else. "Wanna hear about the Demonic Jesters?"

"FREAAAKS!!! LEMME OUT OF HERE!! YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF DERANGED FREAKS!!" the fake Goomba King responded.

"Wellp! You heard him Shy Guy," Chak said. "Let him out of here!"

Shy Guy had a questioning facial expression. "What? he asked.

"Show him the way out!" Chak elaborated. "Show him that thing shaped like a rectangle that people go in and out of sometimes. That thing you can break if you send something flying through it hard enough." David was beginning to let a sneaky grin creep onto his face. "That thing that swings open. That thing that's made of glass. That thing that begins with a 'W' and ends with a-"

"'W?'" Shy Guy inquired. "I dunno, Chak. I think that thing's called a window."

"Shy Guy, you dolt, just huck him out of the thing already," Snifit said.

"I couldn't do that!" Shy Guy said. David made his way over to one of the wide windows embedded into the wall behind the throne. He grabbed a hold of the latch in the middle, and let its two halves swing out. He gestured towards its void and the orange, darkening sky behind it. "Oh, I dunno," Shy Guy hesitated. "He could get hurt, or something."

"Oh, let me do it," Chak insisted. He wrestled the squirming criminal from Shy Guy's grasp, and walked the Goomba over to the window. Snifit had his hands by his waist in satisfaction and David was still grinning. Finally, Chak was before the window. He had the struggling, fake Goomba King in one three-fingered hand and one eye closed.

"Don't you dare huck me through that thing," the enemy growled. "DON'T DO IT!!!" Chak ignored the Goomba's words. He flexed his insect muscles, leaned back, concentrated hard, then thrust his arm forward. The former Goomba King went soaring out the window.

"NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooo!!!..."

The town's four heroes stood watching the window and what had disappeared into its orange sky in different moods. Snifit was glad a guy who was such a klutz about history had gotten what was coming to him, Chak was happy that a man who insisted on turning a town's plays into cures for insomnia got what he deserved, and David was pleased that Goomba Grove was free from that criminal's abusive rule. Shy Guy, however, felt a guy who made such great plays deserved better. Regardless of whatever the case was, the job had been done, and that was something they were all perfectly well aware of.

"Well, come on, guys," Snifit said. "Time to go and top this off..." Chak and David nodded. Snifit turned around and headed down the ladder that the hatch had beneath it. The boy and the bug soon followed. They disappeared, leaving the muscular Shy Guy still standing in the throne room, basking in his thoughts. He stood there with his brutal arms hanging by his sides and not saying a word. He looked up at the ceiling, and then he slowly tilted his head downward so he could look at his brown shoes. He exhaled a deep sigh, shook his head, and started heading for the hatch as well. Once all four heroes were down there, a few moments came to pass, and something could be heard in that room. It was the sound of people cheering...

* * *

BANG BANG BANG! SHUNK SHUNK SHUNK! KST-KCK-KCKHSQCHSHTT!! The storm wasn't stopping. ProZD kept shooting, Yazzee and King Carrot kept pulling, the wheels kept spinning, the coins kept spilling, the gamblers kept cursing, and the crowd kept going wild. It was an unrelentlessly continuous cycle. Some of the people were getting restless.

"You know, Kohler," said Boland. "I'm beginning to have my doubts. It's like there's no end to this!"

"You're probably right," said the red-shelled one. "I mean, it's not like they're gonna stop any time soon."

"Hm," Boland grunted. "I'll give them three hours."

"I'll give them four!"

Elsewhere, a couple of carrots had things of their own to discuss. "Hey, Boscis," said Carro, "what do you think King Boo and the Eight Spookalings are up to?"

"I have no idea, Carro. They're probably somewhere out there, sucking the souls out of a few poor saps." Carro turned his head away and made it nod in response. Boscis continued talking. "I hope things are going well for them," he said. "It could mean big trouble if they don't get those souls..."

"Hmm..."

"One... Two.. Three!!" BANG! SHUNK! Seven... Seven... Turnip. Seven... Seven... Snifit.

"Jaggity-glabbit!!" Yazzee fumed.

"Confound it all!!" King Carrot growled. KCKHSQCHSHTT!! The coins spilled, the crowd vocalized its awe, and ProZD pulled his gun out again.

"One..."

_I'll make Yo'ster Isle proud,_ Yazzee thought. _It'll be known as the home of the greatest gambler who ever lived..._

"Two..."

_I've got a title to maintain,_ King Carrot told himself. _I'm gonna beat this guy, even if it kills me!!_

"THREE!!" BANG! SHUNK! And the evening went on like that...

* * *

DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! The bell was ringing again. Even though it was getting dark out, parents and grandparents alike started ceasing their activities to leave their homes and wander over to the big place, dragging the kids along as well, of course. In time, like earlier that day, a whole crowd was before the stage. This time, it was beneath a fading, purple sky.

"What's going on? Didn't we already see a show today?"

"Whenever the bell rings, we come. That's the rule."

"I hope it won't be something boring again..."

"Sshh!"

The bell stopped ringing, the curtains started being pulled back, and the people put an end to their mumbling. "Yyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay..." they all groaned. A Goomba in a red tuxedo to replace the black one of before walked onto the stage. He stood in front of the audience as calmly as possible. He observed the Goombas' bored facial expressions, knowing exactly how they felt. Then he got the introduction going. He sucked in some air, and got it started.

"LAAAAAADIIIIEES AND GENTLEMEEEENN!!" he bellowed enthusiastically. Suddenly, all eyes in the crowd went wide open in pure disbelief. They started chattering loudly amongst themselves at this turn of events. The Goomba smirked satisfiedly at their reaction and continued. "Are you ready for COMEDY!?!"

"Y-yes?" a few of the people in the crowd said back.

The Goomba on-stage tried again. "Are you ready for a horde of unforgettable jokes that'll knock your socks off?!?"

"YES?!" the crowd said back. This time, their response was spoken by a few more Goombas and with more energy.

"Are you ready for awesomely, spectacularly, wonderfully, outrageously, humorous, gut-busting, butt-gusting FUNNINESS???"

"YYEEEEEESSS!!!" the crowd screamed, not being able to take it anymore. Feeling dozens of weights being lifted from their backs, they finally freed themselves and started hopping up and down in excitement.

"Then what are we waiting for?!! Let's get this party started!!!" The crowd cheered at the red man's speech. Seeing that his work was done, he took a bow, turned to one side, and remained in that position for a few seconds. As time went on, the crowd's craziness started to slowly die down. What was that guy doing? Why was he just standing there? Was the show going to start? Had it already begun? Was it just gonna be him standing there? Had they been duped? Had funny shows not returned with a vengeance? All these questions were answered as soon as their voices had dimmed down completely, leaving the entire town in utter silence. The sky had become a deeper shade of purple, allowing the stars to crawl into view, and the crickets began their chirping. Staring forward, remaining still as rock, the Goomba stood. The crowd continued wondering. Finally, he tilted his head back, and leapt high up into the air. He did a backflip, landed behind where he stood earlier, leapt again, did another backflip, landed again, and then did three backflips in the middle of a particularly high jump. He landed on a place near the edge of the stage, turned and bowed. The audience went ballistic again, realizing what kind of entertainment the night had in store for them. Walking off, the stage was empty again. Everyone got silent once more waiting for the show to start. Then at last, it officially began, and they could all commence laughing once again.

Two Goombas walked onto the stage. One was green and the other was dressed like a lumberjack.

"Pretty nice planet you got here, Mr. Zoontok," said the lumberjack, "but where are all the trees?!"

"We ate them all," said the Goomba playing Mr. Zoontok.

"What?!? Then what am I supposed to do with this axe?!" the lumberjack objected, pulling out that very weapon.

"Become an axe-murderer?" Zoontok suggested.

"That's a good idea, Mr. Zoontok! I could kill people with this thing... Starting with you!!" The lumberjack waved the axe around above his head, menacingly.

"I dare say, Mr. Timber, I don't think that a very good idea," Zoontok objected.

"WHAT?! Why not? Give me one good reason..." Mr. Timber lowered his axe and gave the interplanetary individual a weird look.

"Well, for starters, I-"

"-COME ON, ZOONTOK, I DON'T GOT ALL DAY!!!" Timber interrupted, waving the axe again.

"I have a wife and kid," said Zoontok.

"YOU DO?? Show me!!" Timber demanded.

"Very well then. Follow me." The two Goombas started walking towards the other side of the stage. Just before they could reach the end of it, the Goomba in the lab-coat leapt out from behind the drawn curtains and landed right in front of them.

"Oh! Uncle Zoontok! Thank goodness you're here. You see, I've got a small problem-"

"Dr. Goober-poof, Mr. Timber. He's very pleased to meet you," said Zoontok. Dr. Goober-poof looked Mr. Timber up and down wide-eyed, then at the audience. He stuck out his tongue and shook his head.

"CAN I KILL HIM?!" the lumberjack spazzed. He raised his axe like a lunatic again.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Timber. He's family."

"Family, huh? Is he your nephew?"

"No, he's my wife and kid," Zoontok corrected. Timber looked shocked.

"He's BOTH?!?" the lumberjack freaked out.

"Indeed. He can be several both things at once. For instance: right now, he's angry and joyful simultaneously." The green Goomba gestured towards Dr. Goober-poof who started saying something very strange.

"Oh, Uncle Zoontok, this lab-coat is absolutely ravishing!" the joyful doctor said while spinning on one foot. Then he stopped. "But it's got this milk stain on it! It'll never come out!!" he said, angrily.

"Is that the small problem?" asked Zoontok. Goober-poof shook his head.

"No, that's the huge problem. The SMALL problem is much bigger!" he corrected.

"Well, out with it then," Zoontok asked.

"CAN I KILL HIM NOW?!"

"NO!!!" Zoontok yelled. "The small problem, please?"

"Yes," said Dr. Goober-poof. "I was in my room, mixing the DNA of a weasel and Elvis Peasley-"

"-Elvis Peasley?"

"NOW?!?"

"NO!!"

Goober-poof continued. "-When all of a sudden there was this explosion and now I've created a monster that says it wants to get all people named Uncle!"

"YOUR FIRST NAME IS UNCLE?!"

"YES!!!"

"We have to get you out of here, Uncle Zoontok," said Dr. Goober-poof, "before what's here gets you!"

"Indeed. To the Sloth Mobile!!" Zoontok bellowed. The three of them were about to run off to the other side of the stage, but a new voice stopped them.

"Hey, baby, where ya goin'?"

"Oh, my goodness! He's here!!" Dr. Goober-poof flipped. That was when the Clumph ran onto the stage, club in hand, but he did so with a pair of sunglasses.

He stopped before the trio and said, "You got that right, honey." The audience cheered for the Clumph. In response, the club-wielder spun around, stopped, faced the audience, knelt down, and pointed with his teeth shining. "Thankyouverymuch," he uttered. The crowd went crazy again. Then the Clumph stopped milking them and faced the trio again. "Alright, Uncle, baby, you asked for it. A-huh-huh." The Clumph raised his club into the air menacingly.

"HEY!! YOU SHTOLE MY SHTICK! I mean, you shtoled my stick! I mean you sticked my mole! I mean, you stuck my mole up my-"

"SHUT UP, TIMBER!!" Zoontok yelled. He faced the Clumph and started begging. "Oh, please-oh-please-oh-PLEASE don't kill me! I have a wife and kid!!"

"Sorry, babe. A rule's a rule. Oh, yeah." The Clumph twirled his weapon above his head a little more. Mr. Timber winced, expecting the end. Then at last, the Clumph struck! WHACK!! He belted himself in the forehead, shattering his sunglasses, developed a silly look on his face, and fell backwards. He crashed onto the floor and the other three actors looked at the fallen monster in amazement. They stared for a while longer, and then the Clumph lifted up his head. "Don't cry for me," he said, "I'm all clubbed up. Mm-hm-hm." He plopped back down onto the floor. "Oh-oh. Yeah, yeah."

The three Goombas looked at eachother with much befuddlement on their minds. "Well, I'll be bamboozled," said the lumberjack.

"Ding-dong. The witch is dead," said Dr. Goober-poof.

"This calls for a celebration!" Mr. Zoontok announced. "We shall all go out for some tree-flavored ice cream!"

"Prodigious!" Dr. Goober-poof said.

"Delicious! I'll-" Mr. Timber stopped himself. "Wait a minute. I thought you said you ate all the trees!!!"

"Oh," Zoontok said sheepishly. "I guess I lied."

Timber's eyes burst wide open in fury. He raised his axe and let out his battle cry. "RAAWWWGGGHHH!!!" he screamed.

"AAAUUUUGGGHHH!!" Zoontok wailed.

"NO, TIMBEEERRRR!!!" Dr. Goober-poof voiced. Then the crazed lumberjack started chasing down the two family-members until all three of them were off-stage, leaving the Clumph's downed body behind.

That was when the audience could hear the disembodied voice of a far more interesting narrator. "And that, kiddies, is why you must never spend the night on another planet. The End!"

Every contributing member of the audience hopped up and down in pure excitement and pleasure. The show was a hit. The Clumph got back onto his feet and the other three actors ran back onto the stage so the four of them could line up and take a bow. The crowd cheered even harder. The talented quartet took a few more bows letting the audience do their thing. Then finally, the Goomba King, the REAL Goomba King, walked onto the stage. He stood before the four actors and faced the audience. They all quieted down. Seeing that this was his cue, the royal Goomba took it from there.

"Goomba Grove!" he said. "It is great to be back." This sentence was what got the audience to start mumbling amongst themselves in a confused manner. "You are not going to believe what I am about to tell you," he continued, "but, for a while, I was not the one ruling this town." The people of Goomba Grove started muttering even louder. "I was impersonated! Framed! Thrown into my own dungeon! The audience's murmurings grew even louder. "But now..." the real king stated. The audience piped down once again. "I'm back. And it's all thanks to these four brave individuals!"

The audience erupted into another rite of cheering. Mr. Zoontok, Mr. Timber, Dr. Goober-poof, and the Clumph all took a bow.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not THOSE four people," the Goomba King corrected. The audience started acting confused again. The four actors stepped aside to let four more people walk on-stage: Shy Guy, Snifit, Chak, and David. "THOSE four people!"

The audience went, "Oohhhhh!!" Then they went, "YAAAYYYYYYY!!!" The town's four new heroes each were doing something different. Chak was waving with two hands, David waved with only one, Shy Guy was flexing his muscles, and Snifit had his hands folded behind his back, modestly. Then the exciting narrator started talking again.

"That's right, folks! Goomba Grove is in the debt of these four brave people! Presenting: Big Guy!!"

The people started cheering for the super muscular Shy Guy. "Whoa. Big Guy??" he said to himself. "Hmm..."

"Laser Snifit!!" the narrator announced. The crowd cheered for him, too.

"Laser Snifit?" he said. "What in the name of..."

"Chogun!!" The audience gave it up for the bug man.

"Chogun..." he mused. "That's strange..."

"And Davey!!" The large gathering of Goombas let their voices ring out for the little boy. He didn't look pleasured.

"Davey?!" he fumed. "Why? Why!?"

"And now for the award ceremony!!" the narrator boomed. Everyone went ballistic over that, too.

"Award ceremony?" the renamed Snifit mumbled. The Clumph walked up to the one the narrator referred to as Big Guy.

"Big Guy," he said, club in hand, "for busting down everything that got in our way and for being such a great inspiration for us all, I'd like to give you this club." The Clumph handed over the massive object. The overgrown 8-Bit took it in an enthused mood. The audienced vocally expressed its happiness as well.

"Whoa," he said, swinging the club at the air, "Thanks a bunch!"

Next, it was time for the one called Laser Snifit to get his gift. Dr. Goober-poof approached him. "Laser Snifit," he said, taking off his lab-coat, "for fending off all the fiendish minions of the one who framed our king, I'd like you to have this lab-coat." The grey laser-shooter took it from the Goomba with a strange look on his face.

"Um, thanks," he said. He slipped the garment on. The audience cheered for him again.

The one called Chogun was going next. He was approached by Mr. Timber. "Courageous Mr. Chogun," said the lumberjack, "For getting rid of the fake Goomba King once and for all, I'd like you to have this axe." The bug-like person received a shiny, new weapon in placement of the one that shattered. It was admired.

"Much obliged, friend!" said the axe's new wielder. The crowd's cheering continued. Last but not least, it was the child's turn. He had the intergalactic Mr. Zoontok walk up to him.

"Davey, my boy," he said. The fourth and final awarded one frowned. "For recognizing our plight and gallantly shooting those who opposed you in your struggle for our town, I'd like you to have this laser pistol." The boy's frown vanished and became replaced by a wide-eyed face. He took it gratefully and with much disbelief.

"Thank you," said the former-man. "Thank you, sir."

"No problem, son," Mr. Timber responded. The audience cheered even more. The narrator got to talking again.

"And that, folks, is a wrap!" he said. "Just remember: Always Reduce, Reuse, and Floss!" The crowd went wild one last time. Some time after that, the narrator topped it off. "Thank you... and good night!" The curtain closed up on the stage, covering all nine of the people that were up there. Feeling in significantly higher spirits, the audience walked away happy.

"Daddy, dat pway was fuuuunnyyyy!"

"I know, Junior, I know..."

Behind the curtains, a certain nine-some was busy discussing some unfinished business. "So you're leaving?" the Goomba King said.

"Yup! The night is young and the road's calling my name. It's saying, 'Big Guy! Big Guy! Come to me! You've got a journey to continue!'" The huge man shrugged his shoulders. "It's just one of those things."

"I understand," said the Goomba King. "I would just like to thank you for saving our town one last time, and wish you good luck on your journey."

The muscle-man nodded and gave a thumbs-up to the monarch. His next move was to look at the four actors. "Well, we'll be seeing you," he said. "And thanks for the gifts! They rock!"

"Um, yeah. They really do," said the lab-coat-wearing Snifit.

The actors all nodded and waved some. "Y'all come back now, y'hear?" said the Clumph in another completely different voice.

The traveling quartet's huge leader looked at the Clumph disbelievingly. "Creepy," he said. Then he turned around while his other teammates were busy waving back. "Anyways... Bye now!" The five people representing Goomba Grove returned some farewells, and the enormous 8-Bit's three partymembers turned around as well so they could follow their leader off the stage. Soon, the popsicle-stand had been blown, and the journeying four-some was back beneath the starlit sky.

"Well, Laser Snifit, Chogun, Davey," said the bodybuilder, "gotta move on..." Two of the people he said this two nodded, but the other one shook his head in disgust by his new name. After walking down more roads and between more houses, Goomba Grove was behind them, and more trees awaited them...

_An unseen person' voice called me Davey, and a space alien gave me a laser pistol... I hope no real space aliens are out there..._

Elsewhere, a certain Goomba could hear children and adults alike laughing, music being played, and bottles of champagne being popped. Goomba Grove had definitely been restored to its original luster...

"Goooodiieeeee..." he moaned. "Goooomba Groooove is back to noooormallll..."

* * *

Yoshi and Glishy found themselves standing between some exotic jungle trees and in the presence of a stream of lava. This boiling hot, liquid fire was oozing its way out a gigantic volcanoe. Yoshi looked at it, impressed.

"This is Mt. Lava Lava," Glishy explained. "Noone is allowed to go in there. It's waaay too dangerous."

Yoshi nodded. He had learned all kinds of different words and phrases thanks to this new interpretor. As he stared some more at that flowing mass of flaming gunk, he put his thoughts into words inside his head.

_Once I learn how to,_ Yoshi mentally spoke, _I'm going to ask if there's a way off this island..._

* * *

"You said they were too broken to fight back. You said there couldn't possibly be a rebellion. You said we were overreacting by making those new weapons!!"

The Goomba that had impersonated that town's true ruler was lying on the ground, covered in bruises, in the middle of the woods, being lectured by a gang of Goombas in stupid costumes. The leader of which was the one in a torn-up black tuxedo.

"Well, we've had it!!" said the fed-up Goomba. "From now on, we're not gonna be listening to you. We're gonna go out there and get some REAL jobs! So screw you and your petty little schemes!! We're leaving..." The Goombas gave one last look at the false monarch, turned around in anger, and trudged off. Now he was alone in the middle of nowhere, all covered in marks he'd feel in the morning. This unlawful man had gotten the lime-light and everything else stripped from him. His followers were gone, his position was gone... Everything. All this dawned on him, mercilessly. All this including the fact that not a single soul was nearby willing to give him a shred of sympathy... almost.

"Humpty Dumpty conquered the town. Humpty Dumpty was brought down! All of his horses, all of his men, refused to listen to him again. Tragedy at its finest..."

The imposter Goomba King picked his head up off the ground and saw two black figures standing behind him. One of them had a unibrow, and the other one just looked angry.

"Who are..." the fake king tried to say, but he was too beaten to finish. The one with the unibrow shuffled up to the Goomba.

"The name's Razule. Not MR. Razule, not MASTER Razule, just Razule, even though, technically, I'm your new master!"

"WHAT?!" the impersonator spat. "What are you talking about?! Nobody's my master!!"

"That's what he said." Razule gestured to the person behind him. He was scowling.

"Razule is insane," he said, "but he's the only person that will help me."

"That's Ren for ya!" Razule giggled. "Well now, friend, go on. Who are you supposed to be?"

"I used to be the Goomba King," the downed one grumbled, "but now I'm just a Goomba Prince."

"Okay, Princy!" Razule exclaimed. He shuffled even closer to the Goomba and helped him back on his feet. Once he was sure the beat-up one could stand on his own, the insane one stepped back to look at the two former-tyrants. "The three of us?" he said. "We're three of a kind. We all used to have it all. Fame. Fortune. Chocolate-covered vanities!"

"What?!" said the impersonator.

"He talks like this all the time. Better get used to it," Ren advised.

"But it all got taken away from us. Teddy bears. Teddy bears with mallets and unfriendly thinking caps! They came for us. They wanted to get us. They were jealous. They couldn't handle us being the shining stars on their flourescent ponies. No, they couldn't, no, they couldn't. So they knocked us down and made us eat dirt!!" Razule explained. Even though his words sounded like nonsense, the one he called Princy seemed to understand what he was saying. "It isn't fair," he continued. "IT ISN'T FAIR!! All those pens... All those whoopee-cushions... Gone. Down the drain. Bye-bye!" Razule acted like he was crying. He sniffled a little, but only got weird looks in return, especially from the Goomba. Then the Raven-like creature brightened up. "No more," he declared. "NO MORE!!! We must revolt against these teddy bears. We must strike back! We must take animal balloons, and whack them against their gravy-boats!! We must WIN THE TIE-DYE CUP!! Only then will we get the mustard we deserve..."

The Goomba was beginning to catch on. He looked at the strange creature quizzically and made a question escape his lips. "And... how are we to obtain this mustard?"

Razule gave the questioning one a very serious look. He slowly shuffled up to him until he was extremely close. This made the Goomba very uncomfortable. Without blinking, Razule answered. "One man, one woman," said the creature. "A block-breaker and a block-maker. A mustache and a maiden. A wretch and a witch." Razule finished listing. "They have it. The key! They have it!" Razule finally stepped away from the Goomba and allowed him some breathing space. "We must get this key... AND HAVE OUR REVENGE!!" The Goomba was very confused by this. Razule suddenly started shuffling off very quickly, leaving Ren and the Goomba Prince behind. "COME, MY BRETHREN!! THE BATTLE AWAITS!!" Razule disappeared. Ren soon began to follow. He stopped to look at their new enlistment.

"Believe it or not, he knows what he's talking about," Ren said. The new guy was still skeptical. "Come on." Ren started running after Razule again. The Goomba was left behind. He stood watching these two black creatures scurry off into the woods. He looked behind himself where his old followers had marched off to. This was also where Goomba Grove was. Gradually, he began to accept that that wasn't his place anymore and that he had to move on. It probably wasn't even his to begin with. Thinking that insane people willing to help him might turn out better than the sane people that left him did, he shook his head, and started hobbling after this strange, new duo. Exactly what these three were up to was anyone's guess...

* * *

Children in the streets were chasing after fireflies. Some of their parents were calling them inside. This, Xoshi noticed as he walked with White Rose up to a gate composed of two big blue rectangles with a large, yellow star in the center. The two of them stopped. White Rose addressed the brown Yo'ster.

"Beyond is the grand castle," he said. "Beyond that is Shooting Star Summit. Once we get there, you promise all will be revealed?"

Xoshi thought hard. Not wanting to hesitate too much, he finally responded. "Promise," he said.

"Alright, then," said the knight. He faced the doors again. "Let's get moving..." He pushed his way in, and Xoshi followed. Soon, they were in the presence of the castle of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was glorious, colossal, fanciful, and looked as though it came straight from a faerie-tale. Guarding its front-doors were two Toads in uniform with spears. Xoshi took this in as the two of him and his companion walked past the gigantic building and around a flowing fountain of water. At some point, they came across another spear-wielding Toad and stopped.

"Going to Shooting Star Summit?" he asked.

"Yes," White Rose replied.

"Watch yourself. They say a creature called the Plantern Ghost is on the loose. I'd be cautious if I were you."

"Thank you, sir," White Rose said. The comments were over and the duo could return to their journey.

They continued walking down a very peculiar road. As the huge castle drifted further behind them, more and more stars continued to fade into the sky. Some of them were even shooting. He looked at the ground and noticed that the ground was getting more purple-colored. In the distance, he could see an enormous hill. An enormous hill covered in dazzling sparkles.

_This is it,_ Xoshi thought to himself. _We finally made it... Ugh... I've got butterflies..._

Totally unsure of what exactly was next on their agenda, Xoshi gathered his wits and walked on. It was only a matter of time until all of this came together...


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**  
"And that is why you should never marry outside of your own race." Jeila and her father were enjoying a peaceful evening in that hut of theirs again. Over a few cups of tea, one of them had just finished listening to the other's explanation of something dealing with some of the justices and immoralities of life as well as its relationships and its variety of different people.

"Yes, Papa," Jeila responded. Her father took another sip of his drink while his daughter took a look at some of the jars, containers, and other such things the shelves around them consisted of. She saw that one of them was filled with some type of gunk she recognized, and decided to raise some other issue. "Papa?" she asked.

"Yes, sweetie?" the parent replied, putting his cup down onto the floor.

"Why is it that there's no safe way to dispose of voodoo dolls?" she inquired. Her father evidently gave the question some thought. He had an answer. He took a breath and let another explanation come out.

"It's because they're designed to look like certain people," he said. Jeila's eyes widened, quizzically. The father elaborated. "They look like the people they look like because they're made by people (often witches) who hold grudges against those people. Each doll is made from at least one personal possession of the person these people wish to harm. With a little help from a little magic..." The holy Yoshi made his left arm wave around to imitate some spell-casting. "Voila! Instrument of torture. They can stick needles in these, they can hold them over open fires, but it won't be the dolls that'll take the damage; the people that look like them will."

"That's awful," Jeila commented.

"Mm-hm," her father agreed. "So if you find one laying around in your home, it's best not to get rid of it. Don't throw it into the water, or rip it up, or anything. Who knows? Someone miles away will probably inexplicably drown or spontaneously combust."

"Ew," Jeila winced. Her contorted face returned to something more questioning. "But what if it's a bad person that deserves it?"

"We are not in any sort of position to judge others, Jeila, my dear. Noone on this planet is truly fit to decide who deserves what and how, sweetheart."

Jeila looked confused. "But... What if the doll's missed? Wouldn't it be right to return it to its owner?"

"No, that wouldn't be right, because it would only allow the owner to do more wrong. Besides: keeping it away from them would serve as their punishment for being such evil-doers in the first place," her father responded.

Jeila looked even more confused. "But... Papa... Isn't that the same as saying we ARE in a position to judge who deserves what and how?"

Her father just chuckled. He leaned closer to her so he could put a hand on her shoulder. "Jeila, dear, someday you'll be the mistress, but that won't be until later. Until then, give it time, hm?" His hand patted her shoulder, and he removed it so he could lean back and drink some more tea. Jeila still looked a little befuddled. She gently stared at her father who only smiled in return.

"Okay, Papa," she said. She then took a sip of her own tea and thought of other things. Things like what had happened, what was going on, and what was probably going to happen. She set her tea down and let the night carry on...

* * *

Meanwhile, Boshi was still busy walking along an unfamiliar path somewhere in Mario Land. Thoughts of anger, frustration, and confusion still flowed through his fatigued mind. It had been a long road. It wasn't getting any shorter, and it wasn't leading him to any place to be recognized.

"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this," Boshi grumbled to himself. "I just wanna go home, but ever since that big explosion, things have just been... Ugh..." He shook his head in an attempt at getting rid of some of the weariness that weighed him down. In spite of the fact it didn't work and that he didn't even know what he was struggling to do anymore, he kept on walking. However, pretty soon, he was able to see something on the horizon or another that was gradually getting closer and closer to him...

* * *

Pish was running around like crazy through the village back on Yo'ster Isle. Others may have been trying to get some shut-eye, but items were still on his to-do list. Once he got past one house and then the other, he came to find that he was not the only person with his optical receptors still wide open. Two Yoshies, one pink, one blue, were standing before the hut of a brown one. Deciding a little break was far from harmful, he ran up to the little duo and slowed to a halt.

"Hey, Pish," said Pinky. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Pish responded through a few pants. "What about you guys?"

"Ah, you know. Same ol', same ol'," Pinky replied. "We're still here, making sure noone comes and starts robbing Xoshi's house is all. But, you know, I'm beginning to wonder if there even are burglars worth guarding his house from."

"There aren't any burglars because WE'RE here," Oshi informed.

"Aye," said Pinky with a quick nod.

"Well, keep up the good work," Pish said, beginning to stretch his muscles. "I'll catch you guys later. Right now, I've gotta keep myself in tip-top shape." Pish suddenly stopped, folded his arms, and looked at his two friends through squinty eyes. "You know what am I'm sayin'?"

"Er, yeah," said Pinky. "Well, good luck with that."

"Alright. See ya!" Pish waved a little and got himself back into the jog.

"Later!" Oshi called. Pish kept running through the village, probably with other destinations in mind...

* * *

With a strange flower resembling a pink ball surrounded by gossamer wings in his hands, the quirky Prof. E. Gadd walked down a certain lane in the middle of the night. He vocally expressed his intrigue towards the plant.

"Hohoho. You, little friend, could quite possibly be the next to further my studies in the fields of ghosts. Unquestionably!" The strange proffessor continued walking until something in the distance seemed to catch his attention. He lifted a small hand and placed it over his eyes to adjust his vision somewhat. "What's that I see? Another person out at a time like this? Intriguing..." With that in mind, he continued his waltzing as the person coming towards him did as well. This was what was going on in the current situation of Prof. E. Gadd...

* * *

While continuing to run around, Pish managed to bump into someone else. It appeared as though, he, a red Yoshi, and maybe a few other people were still walking around at this hour. The two of him and this new person stopped before eachother to have a little chat.

"So, how's it going?" Pish asked.

"Well and good," Rachi replied. "Azure's keeping an eye on the stronghold. I'm still trying to figure out what the deal is with that one thing that interrupted the race."

Pish suddenly put his fists against his hips, looking at the red Yo'ster accusingly. "Are you saying that race was rigged?"

"No, just that I've still got some research to do," Rachi exclaimed. Pish seemed to lighten up.

"Well then... What have you found out so far?" asked the purple Yoshi.

"All that I can confirm is that these things just tend to pop up out of nowhere. Other than that, I really can't say." Rachi gave his shoulders a shrug.

"Hmm... Well, you keep at it, then." Pish started preparing himself for the jog again. "Anyways, I got some exercise to do." Pish made another weird face. "Keep it real!"

"Yes, sir," said Rachi. With the conversation having been come to an end, the two Yoshies could return to their duties. While moving his legs quickly and being carried here and there as he was doing this, some contemplating got to be done by him.

_So Rachi and Azure are guarding Xoshi's house, who is somewhere out there on Isle Delfino, enjoying himself with Yoshi, Yazzee, and Boshi, Rachi and Azure still have some scientific research to conduct, and here I am, trying to walk, or rather, run in Boshi's shoes,_ he speculated. _I hope he'd be proud of me..._ The purple Yo'ster disappeared into the night, making his legs a little stronger all the while...

* * *

_That Pish had better not be screwing things up while I'm away,_ Boshi thought to himself. _'Cause if he is... POW!_ Boshi just kept on walking. For a while now, the figure he saw had only been progressively becoming something more and more clear. Finally, he could see it was some little person in a white lab-coat. At first, this individual didn't ring a bell, but then it all came together. He most likely realized this upon seeing the facial expression of this guy lighten up by the sight of him. Boshi decided not to waste another moment, and he ran up to the man.

Boshi skidded to a stop right in front of him and let him have it. "YOU!!" he yelled, pointing a reptilian finger at him. "Everything was fine before you showed up!! Yoshi, Xoshi, Yazzee, and I were still in one piece. Then the whole freakin' ship blew up, and now I'm stuck in this crazy place!! Tell me what the hell is going on, right now!!"

Gadd just laughed. "No need to get so worked up, friend. I'm afraid your troubles are all thanks to a completely different being."

"Chyeah, right!" Boshi scoffed. He edged closer to the scientist. "You've got something to do with it. Come on, you, fess up!!"

Gadd laughed again. "I'm afraid you and your friends were being attacked by ghosts. For the sake of science and helping you folks out, I came by with my special invention, and took care of them all for you!"

"Something blew up," Boshi pointed out. "That was your fault, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!"

Gadd let loose another chuckle. "That in the dark, hm?" He looked Boshi straight in the eye through those shades of his. The blue Yo'ster was noticeably ticked. The proffessor chuckled once more. "Come on," he said, letting one hand hold the flower so he could use the other to pat Boshi on the arm. "This isn't the time or the place to be discussing such things." The intellectual then walked around Boshi and started continuing down where he was originally headed.

"Oh, right. Like YOU have any clue where to go?!" Boshi fumed.

The little man gave another laugh. "You didn't." Boshi looked even more angered. Prof. E. Gadd stopped, turned around, and pointed to where Boshi was originally headed. "That way leads away from civilization. We need to go this way." He pointed to where he wanted to take the Yoshi. Boshi took a look at that direction and sighed.

"How do you know all this, anyway?" he asked. For an answer, all Boshi got was a laugh.

"Come on," Gadd said. He turned back around and gestured with his hand. Soon after that, both hands were holding the flower again. Boshi just watched the man walk a little more. He let his anger burn him up a little more, and then he drooped his head and sighed once more.

_So I follow this guy around, and I make him talk_ he thought. _Well... Better than nothin', I guess..._ At last, Boshi got over it and slowly began to follow this new companion. He hoped dearly that things would start making sense again...

* * *

The gigantic castle was right before their eyes. It was huge, made of brick, had towers and flags making it in different places, possessed windows wherever needed, and owned a giant M in the middle of a circle. Such a symbol bore a strong resemblance to something the father wore around his neck. He, his wife, and his children had finally returned from a disastrous vacation. The Mario Land Grand Castle was theirs to live in again.

"Well, dear," said the king, "it looks like we've finally made it."

"I know," his wife replied. Mario and Luigi were asleep in her arms. "They'll be very happy to see the babies. I know it."

"They will be," said the father. He looked at the humungous building a little while longer, and then began to adjust his grip on the briefcases. He turned to look at his spouse. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's," the mother agreed.

"No birds, no space aliens, no airplane incidents will stop us now," the king declared.

"I know," said his wife. Without allowing the wait to take any longer, the four family-members finally got started on the small number of steps that would reunite them with their home and all their royal servants. They were undoubtedly going to turn out to be an ecstatic bunch, which was something not contradicted the second the four-some got through the front-doors. A while afterwards, murmurings could be heard. These quiet voices started off small, but then the escalating began. Pretty soon, the Mario Land Grand Castle was a huge building in the middle of a country somewhere out there that had uproars of pleasure and adoration coming from within. At last, at long last, the king and queen had made their triumphant return, and they did so with two new bringers of joy for the land to begin loving. The Mario Bros.' new life of royalty had begun...

* * *

BANG! SHUNK! KSCQRDSDT! The night was getting older and the contest between Yazzee and King Carrot only got longer. In spite of this, a crowd was still about. They found the skills and the luck of both these gamblers to be quite impressive, especially since they had come so close to getting triple-sevens so many times in a row, which only resulted in creating more mountains of money, which was also found awe-inspiring by the audiences. After their cursing was overwith, ProZD rose his gun again for the two competitors.

"One... Two... THREE!!" BANG! SHUNK! The wheels got to their spinning once again. All the spectators went on with their excited watching. This did not exclude Boland, Kohler, Carro, and Boscis. All four kept their eyes on the game intently. This changed, though, once something behind Carro started to make some obnoxious sound.

BEE-BEE-BEEP! BEE-BEE-BEEP! Some of the viewers, including Boscis, turned and raised some eyebrows at the orange guy. KSCQRDSDT! The audience let out another cheer and Carro made a small device hover out from behind his back. With it floating in front of him, he used his strange ability to look at its screen and push at its buttons. Boscis looked at him and the device curiously. Boscis became even more concerned once he saw a look of horror fall over his comrade's face.

"What's up?" Boscis asked.

"The base," Carro breathed. "We're under attack."

"We are?! Lemme see that." Boscis yanked the little machine away from Carro's invisible grasp and poked at a few buttons to see for himself. Afterwards, he reached a conclusion. "This is... not good," he replied.

"I knew we shouldn't have left," Carro dwelled. "What are we gonna do?" he asked.

"We tell the boss," Boscis answered.

Carro looked unsure. "Now?"

"No... not now," Boscis added.

"One... Two... Three!" BANG! SHUNK! KSCSCSMRDXT!

"Now," Boscis said. The two minions hovered up to the side of King Carrot. This caught the attention of a few people.

"What do you want?!" King Carrot demanded. "Can't you see I'm busy here?!"

"Boss, we've got a little problem," Carro said.

King Carrot scowled. "Can it wait?!" he growled.

"No, boss, it can't," Carro said.

King Carrot looked around himself. He noticed that a lot of people were glaring, including Yazzee and ProZD along with his two companions. King Carrot looked at his two underlings to talk some more. "Alright, make it quick."

"Well, we just got a reading that our base is being infiltrated by two... things," Carro explained. "I don't know what they are, but... they're wreacing havoc, boss. If we don't return to the base and stop 'em now, who knows what could happen?!"

King Carrot took a few seconds to take this new dillemma into deep consideration. He looked at the worried guises of his minions' faces, then at the impatient ones of Yazee, ProZD, Boland, and Kohler. Their judge was tapping his foot.

"Are you done?" he asked. The audience watched and waited.

King Carrot bit his lip, letting it quiver. He looked down at the hairy tip of his oddly-shaped body. He looked up at the slot-machine and the huge pile of money-bags it had won him. He carefully observed every inch of them, thinking hard. He looked back at the floor, blinked his eyes a few times and closed them. He rolled out a long sigh. Finally, he looked up, turned around, and faced ProZD. "I forfeit," he said. The crowd gasped. They started muttering about this turn of events.

"So you admit you lose?" the man in the white tuxedo said. King Carrot hesitated. Eyeballs everywhere were glued to him. After that pause, he answered.

"I admit it." This got the people in the room to start talking even more.

"You do know what this means, right?" ProZD elaborated. "All that money you earned fighting to the finish?" He gestured to the forfeiter's hill of cash with his cane. King Carrot looked at it. "It all belongs to your opponent now. You're the lesser gambler. Do you accept this?"

King Carrot's unattractive face twisted into something even more frightful. It scrunched into a 100 ticked-off facial expression. "I am NOT the lesser gambler." King Carrot growled out this sentence so harshly, his voice-box was about to explode in a mass of pulpy juice. "I only lose THIS time," he said just as fiercely. The audience was getting rather scared of this man and his attitude. King Carrot spun on his stool to face Yazzee who had a very bewildered look on his face. "You, Yoshi boy," said the carrot, "you've won the battle, but the war's not over yet! We'll meet again..." King Carrot thrust himself out of his seat and hovered away from the yellow Yo'ster. SPOWT turned its head towards him.

_"He said, 'Good game! We should play again some time.'"_

Yazzee's mood brightened. "Oh, really? That was nice of him..."

King Carrot caught up with his two fellow orange people. He looked at them, and then at the huge pile of money he worked so hard to win. This was the last time he'd ever be able to see it. He looked at his boys again. "Well," he said, "it's a pity, really, but right now we've got something more important than money to worry about."

"Right, boss," said the two of Carro and Boscis at the same time. The three of them hovered around the bunch of bags, past the casino's famous giant roullette wheel, and down the aisle of velvet ropes. Everyone had witnessed this carefully and had not missed a single beat. Then they all looked at Yazzee who was just sitting on his stool, looking at the crowd nervously. ProZD smirked and used his cane to walk up to the yellow Yoshi. Yazzee looked at the man without blinking.

"Yazzee Yoshino," ProZD said, "I declare you the winner." He extended his right hand. "Congratulations." Yazzee looked at the hand for a moment, then grabbed it finally. The two people shook, and the crowd went wild. They even started chanting his name.

"YAZZEE! YAZZEE! YAZZEE! YAZZEE!"

Yazzee's face looked stupefied like he was in a dream. Wow... he thought. So this is what it feels like... An image of Boshi being praised in a similar fashion showed up in his mind. He giggled at it, and the two hands of him and the judge left one another. Perhaps he'd be able to make his homeland proud afterall...

ProZD walked back up to Boland and Kohler. The two men looked at their superior expectantly. "My work here is done," ProZD said. "Come on. Let's get out of here..."

"Alright, boss," Boland said.

"Right, boss," Kohler agreed. Pretty soon, another trio had left the room. Yazzee was left behind, still basking in all the glory of being the winner...

Somewhere outside Hotel Delfino, the carrots had yet another journey to embark on, and it was just getting started. _Should anything happen to the base..._ thought King Carrot, _it'll mean trouble..._

* * *

The four people that had released a town from the rule of a certain imposter had been walking all night through the woods. At last, after a long session of crunching through sticks and leaves and weaving through branches and shrubs, they had reached an opening.

"Shy Guy," said the one that resembled a bug, "how much longer 'til we reach the temple?"

"Big Guy," the oversized 8-Bit corrected.

"Fine then. Big Guy." The other man played along. "How much longer?" The other two were probably thinking the same thing.

The muscular leader of the group, suddenly came to a stop. He folded his arms. The others stopped as well. "What is it?" the grey one asked.

The one being asked this extended a huge arm and pointed. The other three turned their heads. Something was there on top of the hill. It was a strange building being held up with pillars and a few staircases. The most unusual thing about this building was that it was covered in black and white tiles. The masked man smirked with satisfaction. "There it is, guys," he said. "The temple we've all been waiting for."

The boy of the group looked overwhelmed. With excited, wide eyes, he said, "Are you serious?!"

"Positive," said the muscleman. His trio of cohorts all jumped up and down in triumph. He let them bask in their glory for a while, and then he had to calm them down. "Alright, people, time to rest."

The bug and the boy objected. "What?! But we're so close!!" argued the younger one.

"My normal self is just moments away... Let's keep going!!" said the other one.

The enormous club-wielder just folded his arms and shook his head. "Nope. That's enough for today. We rest," he insisted.

"I think he's right," said his fellow ex-Shy Gang-member. The other two breathed sighs of disappointment.

"Alright," the insect man conceded, "but first thing tommorrow morning, we raid that place!"

"Yes!" said his shrunken companion, pumping an arm.

"Agreed." The bodybuilder unfolded his massive arms, stretched, and yawned. "Well Laser Snifit, Chogun, Davey," he addressed them. "It's lights out!" They all nodded and began preparing themselves for another night of sleep. Surely, the next day, they'd be able to get what they wanted...

* * *

Back on Lava Lava Island in a location where a rough battle previously took place, two Yo'sters had finally caught up with eachother. They consisted of a magenta one and a dark orange one. The magenta one spoke first.

"So, Glishy, how are the lessons going? Is he catching on?" Fyooshi asked.

"Yeah, he knows a few words and phrases," Glishy responded. "He's a fast-learner."

"That's good to hear," Fyooshi commented. "Maybe someday we'll be able to learn a little more about him, like who he is, where he came from, and how he got here."

"Yeah," said his multilingual friend. He looked at his feet thoughtfully, and then he looked back up. "Say, Fyooshi? How do you think he got here? Do you think it was aliens, or something?"

This rang a bell to Fyooshi. It wasn't a very pleasant one. "Probably," he solemnly stated.

"A U.F.O. just left the island a little while ago," Glishy pointed out. "What do you think that was all about?"

"I'm not sure," Fyooshi expressed. "Raphael told me a little about them, though. He said he was abducted by them once."

Glishy looked shocked. "He was??"

Fyooshi nodded. "Yeah, he was. He said they keep going around, capturing people, but only if they're really strong, like him," the cowardly Yoshi explained. "He said their leader has hypnotic powers. He can put people into these deep sleeps where they have nothing but bad dreams that are kind of like flash-backs, but stranger. He said they have to fight in these dreams, otherwise, when they wake up, they become his slaves."

Glishy was interested in this explanation, but also a little concerned. "Now, why would he want to do that?"

Fyooshi shrugged. "I don't know."

"Hmm..." The dark orange Yoshi scratched the back of his head. "Well, whatever it is, it's definitely trouble." The worldly Yoshi craned his head back and got a good look at the stars. "Something tells me... that Ren was just the beginning of our problems..."

Fyooshi let these words sink in, and he gulped. "But... but..." he stuttered. "Ren is gone for good... right?!"

"Yeah," Glishy said. "I guess so."

Fyooshi nervously alternated between tapping one foot and the other. He looked at the ground in a sweat, and then at his friend again. "Well, um," he started, "I think we should be going to bed now."

Glishy looked perplexed. "Ren's gone."

Fyooshi gave a quick nod. "Yeah."

"You don't need to follow a curfew anymore."

"I know," Fyooshi said. "I just think we should be going to bed now."

Glishy's face still looked weird. "Okay," he said.

"So, then," Fyooshi stammered. "Goodnight?"

Glishy slowly nodded. "Yeah. Goodnight."

"Okay." Hesitantly, the two Yoshies turned around and started walking away so they could hit the hay. Upon ambling about, Fyooshi had to get some speculating done.

_Ren's gone... but so is Noshi and Naji,_ he thought. _And those aliens... they're still out there._ The magenta Yoshi's walking continued. _They had something to do with their disappearance. I know it,_ he reasoned. _And they're about to do something worse than what Ren did... Way worse..._

* * *

Ren, himself, had other things to worry about. Together, the three of him, Razule, and the Goomba they had just recruited had made it to a spot in the woods where the center of attention was what appeared to be huge, oddly-shaped boulder covered in moss and dirt. Ren didn't recognize this, but the Goomba seemed to be thinking really hard while staring at it, and Razule was prancing around as happy as all get-out.

"IT'S HERE!!" he squealed. "It's here, it's here, it's here, it's here, it's here, it's here, IT'S HERE!!"

"You know what this is??" the Goomba asked the crazy Raven-like creature once his dance slowed down.

"EHP!" the black thing grunted. "Less talk, more walk!" Razule then began to make all kinds of quickly-paced movements all over the rock. Every time he did so, it became less mossy and less rock-like. This gradual change made the Goomba seem to find it more and more familiar. At last, all was revealed. The Goomba was very surprised.

"I thought I knew what that was!!" he exclaimed.

"What is it?" Ren asked the new guy.

"It's-"

"-RENNY BOY!!" Razule yelled. The Raven's attention was stolen. "This thing has fallen and it can't get up. It needs your charity!!"

"I'm on it," Ren replied. The Goomba watched as the Raven shuffled off and the Raven-like person stepped back. Two witnesses stood side-by-side watching their third partymember getting ready to flip whatever this thing was right-side-up again.

"This is gonna be great!" Razule said. "Pretty soon, we'll be hopping, and flopping, and bopping around!!"

The Goomba just gave his two partymembers weird looks. Ren looked at his target, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He flexed his muscles, getting ready for the blow. He opened up his eyes, and unleashed his fury.

"Boonnn..." He lowered his head, and flung himself at the prize. "ZZAAAIIII!!!" WHAMM!! FWUMP!! In one swift movement, he had managed to slam his feet into the thing's surface at the right point, causing it to flip onto its side, which was actually making it stand the way it was meant to. The three of them got to see this new possession of theirs in its proper manner. It was a big, green boot with a wind-up key in the back. However, that little accessory of it wasn't rotating as it was meant to.

"With this, we can go ANYWHERE!!" Razule said. "Lava Lava Island, Yoshi's Island, Kariboo Island, the sun... ANYWHERE!!"

The Goomba took this new advantage into consideration. "It should," he said. "It probably should."

"Well, then why all the lolly-gaggin'?! Let's hop in!" Razule stated. "Just one teensy-weensy problemo," he added. "No pilot! This thing has a foot, but no brain!" He looked at the Goomba who was returning the eye-contact with a weirded-out facial expression. "Princy to the rescue!! You can give this thing its wings again, right?!"

The one he called Princy stared a little more, then nodded. "Yes. I think I can."

"Then go, gladiator. Go and smite the troll!!" Razule encouraged. The Goomba nodded. He waddled up to the device, looked up at it, and scrunched his feet up. With all his might, he flipped up into the air and into the driver's seat. Ren and Razule both watched in anticipation. Within moments, the new instrument was up and running again. The wind-up key was twirling around once again and it was ready for lift-off. "YA-HOO!!" Razule crowed. "Ren! Our carriage has arrived!"

"Yes, sir," Ren replied. Pretty soon, the two of them were sharing this gigantic garment of war with the formerly-royal one. With a little assistance from that very guy, the thing even started to jump around, making trees and bushes around them alike tremble at the tremors it relatively created. The Goomba was a little glad to have at least one souvenir from the town, while Ren was astonished by this thing's movements. Razule wasn't much different.

"Mush! Mush!" the crazy one said. "Ding-dong! Glory and marshmellows will not get themselves!!"

"Razule," the Goomba said, still making the new transportation device leap through the forest, "where shall we go?"

"To Clubba Road!" he answered. "There, our broken violins await! We must get them before they get us!"

"Roger!" the Goomba said. He continued to let the giant boot stampede through the collection of vegetation. Razule's obnoxious voice could be heard ringing out.

"LOOK OUT, WORLD!" Razule announced. "THE THREE BOOMBATEERS ARE ON THE LOOSE! THEY'RE COMING WITH THEIR VERY OWN BOOMBA'S SHOE! AND THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU, CLUBBA ROAD!! KA-FWEE-HEE-HEE!!"

* * *

The path to the peak of Shooting Star Summit most certainly was a dazzling one. Xoshi couldn't help but admire all of the purple, the glitter, and the rainbows this place seemed to shine with. It even appeared to come with stars of its own. He also caught a glimpse of some house along the way, but he thought little of it. He felt like he was on a different planet.

After that part of the walk was over, it was then up to the two of him and White Rose to scale up an unusual slope coiling its way around their destination. More of the realm's beuty had Xoshi in awe. Eventually, the coiling came to a stop and became more of a staircase. The duo stood before it.

_This is it, Xoshi,_ Beel stated. _Our journey begins..._

The brown Yo'ster had butterflies twisting around in his stomach. _Don't remind me,_ he said back.

"Well, Sir Xoshi," White Rose said, "now what?"

_Tell him to wait there,_ Beel instructed.

"Wait here," Xoshi said, carrying out the order. White Rose obeyed.

_Go up the stairs,_ Beel said. Xoshi did that, leaving the knight of the desert behind. He soon found himself on a wide, purple platform rimmed with seven shapes resembling stars in circles, all of them arranged neatly. _Walk to the center,_ Beel stated. In a very hesitant fashion, Xoshi did that, too. Each step he let his rubber shoes take him got him only so much closer to his destination. At last, he was standing right on it. White Rose watched all this in utter confusion. _Now wait..._ This, too, was an order that Xoshi carried out. He didn't know how this would help, but he did it anyway. Suddenly, Beel did something very strange.

_Star Spirits,_ the Star Warrior said, _I have arrived..._

"Well done." Both Xoshi and White Rose unexpectedly heard the voice of a kindly old woman show up out of nowhere. They both looked around confusedly in search of the source of this voice. Then it materialized. First the stars in the circles lit up in different colors, including green, blue, purple, red, teal, silver, and grey. Then above each star emerged several explosions of various other colors like an array of fireworks. Then some figures began to flicker in where these explosions took place like a set of five-pointed televisions. Gradually, they faded into their true forms. The Seven Star Spirits had arrived as well. "Honorable one," Nay-Charr said, "we welcome you to Shooting Star Summit. At last, your quest has reached its starting point..." Neither Xoshi nor White Rose understood a word of that. They seemed to speak an ancient tongue. "Everyone," Nay-Charr said, "the wands." The others knew exactly what this meant. They raised their fins up high and cast their spell.

Xoshi looked in all directions. Rotating around him, shimmering collections of light were beginning to form. They all seemed to be made out of swirling spikes of rainbows. The colors and the light they all gave off slowly got brighter and brighter. Finally, they erupted in a gigantic flash of spectral madness. Xoshi and White Rose were nearly blinded. Seven shapes of glowing lights shined their way through the two people's eyelids. Once their eyes were able to focus again, they could see that these strange hues were still about, but they had caused seven scepter-like objects to appear. All twelve colors of the rainbow had brought forth the Seven Magic Wands. Once that had been done, Nay-Charr spoke again.

"Take them," she told Beel, "and see to it that the oncoming evil shall be defeated."

_I will,_ Beel responded. At this point, the wands had come to a stop and were busy floating in midair.

"I say," Nay-Charr added, "that's quite the interesting body you've managed to obtain." Xoshi's head was twisting about. The body and mind did not seem to reflect eachother. The other Star Spirits noticed this, too. They started murmuring to eachother.

_It's, er, a long story,_ Beel said, sheepishly.

"You fool," the green Star Spirit scolded. "You shouldn't have dragged this creature into this. Now it will take you approximately six months to leave his body, and already five days have gone by." Her six peers were each sharing various titters with one another.

_I'm sorry. Please forgive me,_ Beel apologized.

"I suppose it can't be helped," Nay-Charr said. The other six seemed to pipe down some. Then the high-ranking woman addressed Beel's body using the language of Yo'ster Isle. "Courageous Yoshi," she said to the brown one. Xoshi's head snapped forward and looked directly into the eyes of this powerful person. He listened intently. "Another was appointed to this job. You were not. However..." Nay-Charr closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. "It appears there are no other options." She opened them up again and looked at Xoshi. "You, young adventurer," she said. "This Star Warrior... You shall be the eyes. You shall be the ears. The arms, the legs, the voice... All of them." Xoshi stared without blinking, but understandingly. "You have been elected for this," she clarified. "You shall be guided. The one with whom you share your mind with shall do this for you. This is the destiny that awaits you two." Xoshi nodded timidly, knowing who and what she was referring to. "You know of your mission, correct?" Xoshi nodded again. "Good." Nay-Charr then took a peak behind the brown Yo'ster and took notice of a man dressed in white standing before the platform, stunned in pure astonishment. "Is this one of them?" she asked Beel.

_Yes, it is,_ her servant replied. _Although, I'm afraid there's a little trouble..._ Beel then commenced explaining to Nay-Charr about White Rose's personal plight. She understood perfectly well. She stopped talking to the Star Warrior and started speaking to White Rose in his own language.

"Step forward, White Rose," she said. Surprised even more, the swordsman complied. He walked up the steps, across the platform, feeling the eyes of the Star Spirits watching him, and he stood next to Xoshi's left side. "Do you know why you're here?" Nay-Charr asked.

White Rose shook his head. "No, ma'am. I do not," he replied.

"Very well. We shall enlighten you..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The other Star Spirits made similar preparations. "We are the Seven Star Spirits," she began. "For ages, we have been watching over this planet, granting people's wishes, occasionally with the exceptionally potent Star Rod, but that is beside the point. Lately, we have been having something much more important on our minds..."

White Rose looked puzzled by this powerful woman's words. To her left, the frosty Blizzarr took it from there. "A while ago, a cold-hearted Magikoopa by the name of Kamek sought out the potential of two babies representing Mario Land. This caused quite a commotion to arise, and only eight Yoshies could put it on ice. Many rejoiced once this happened, and they still are, which is something that shouldn't be as something even more bone-chilling is on the warpath..."

A feeling of wonder filled White Rose's innards. Adventurous Earhar took her turn to do the explaining. "We couldn't just sit back with our heads in the clouds, so we got to work. We used our magic powers to make these Seven Magic Wands here out of air! They must each be given to one person so that they can team up and send that something flying!"

Next, it was the fiery Pyrar's turn. "You, White Rose, are one of those seven people. I'm quite certain your journey here was a rather difficult one, but I'm afraid that that was only a warm-up. Things will only be heating up for you and your friends from this point on..."

The watery Seastar did the next segment of explaining. "One person was meant to bring the seven of you together. This person was meant to flow into the form of a doll, but a Yoshi was flowed into instead. That Yoshi is beside you now. He was one of the eight. You are to journey across the seas with him in order to help him unite the other six so that eventually the seven of you can take on the oncoming evil and make it drown!!"

White Rose looked at Xoshi quizzically in response to this part of the explanation. Xoshi just looked nervous and shrugged. The next part was spoken by the creepy Mummar. "The clock is ticking. As you journey down the road, do not let the days pass too great in number. I fear that will give the oncoming evil more time to fulfill its selfish desires. Perhaps the apocalypse is on the verge. Who knows? Alas, not even we, the Seven Star Spirits, know for sure. Only time will tell..."

Finally, Eldstar took his turn. "But with each wand in the right hands, such an oncoming evil can be thwarted! The three of you can do this, not just for the Star Spirits, but for the entire world! Please. Everyone is counting on you..."

Nay-Charr topped it off. "Each wand comes with an elemental-connection. Each wand and its powers must be conquered by its hero. Once that has been done, the hero shall become the master of his wand. The KING of his wand..." White Rose looked even more perplexed. He didn't look any less questioning once the wand with a ruby embedded into its head floated towards him. "Take your wand," she ordered, "and become its king..."

White Rose looked questioningly first at the wand, then at Nay-Charr, then at the wand again. Slowly, he reached for the wand in midair with his right, gloved hand. He wrapped his fingers around its smooth, cylindrical body, and was nailed by something completely unexpected. He felt a tremendous snake of vibrating energy spiral throughout his body. His eyes widened in shock and the grip he held the wand with became even tighter. The vigor had evaporated, but he could still feel a bit of its tingling. He looked at his new magical weapon in awe and intrigue. He gradually lifted his gaze back up to that of Nay-Charr's who gave him a subtle smile.

"You accept?" she asked him.

"I never expected anything like this," the man said, rotating his new wand with both hands, still observing its glory. He looked up at the starry sky. "All this time... I had no idea..." He let his head tilt downward at a slow pace. "But... An oncoming evil... The apocalypse... Seven people... I'm one of them..." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's..." he started. "That's... quite a predicament..." He opened his eyes, looking at the purple ground, and letting the wand rest in his clasped hands. "But I suppose I have no choice..."

"Indeed..." Nay-Charr said. White Rose looked up.

"I accept," he said.

"Good," said Nay-Charr. "Now go," she ordered. "Don't let us down..."

White Rose nodded, wand in hand. "Yes, ma'am."

"That one's mine," Pyrar stated. "Use it well, hero. Incinerate all who get in your way."

The swordsman gave another nod. "Yes, sir."

The next thing to happen dealt with the other six wands. They all floated to the front of Xoshi. Confused, but knowing what this meant, he took them anyway. At last, they were in his possession. They could finally start playing their role in his quest. Nay-Charr then commenced wrapping up the conversation. She had to speak three different languages in order to do this. "Now we must part," she said, speaking to White Rose. "Best of luck, hero." White Rose nodded once again. Then she spoke to Xoshi. "The uniting of the seven is in your hands," she said. "Best of luck, Yo'ster." Xoshi made the same gesture that White Rose did to represent his comprehension. Lastly, Beel was up. "Guide him well."

_I will,_ Beel said.

"Good," Nay-Charr responded. "Best of luck, Star Warrior."

_Thank you, Nay-Charr_ Beel obliged. After that, the two of Xoshi and White Rose were left standing around, watching the Star Spirits slowly fade away with reassuring smiles. They flickered like a collection of television sets once more, becoming more and more blurry. At last, there was not a bit of them left. The world-saving group was left alone. White Rose turned to his companion.

"Well then," he exclaimed, "shall we be off?"

Xoshi nodded. "Yes," the Yoshi stated. "Let's go."

"Alright then..." Another agreement had been reached. Their visit to Shooting Star Summit had been a success. Their real mission was lying ahead of them...

While walking down the hill away from where they had come for, Beel started talking to Xoshi again.

_Are you wondering what everyone just said?_

_Mm, sort of,_ Xoshi admitted. _I only caught a few words, like "Magikoopa," "Yoshi," and "White Rose."_

_You're learning,_ said his instructor.

_Yeah, I guess,_ Xoshi said modestly. _Beel? Is there anything you DON'T know how to say?_

Beel laughed. _Well, I suppose I do know a lot..._ Xoshi was not the only one being modest. _Would you like a translation?_

_Yes, please,_ Xoshi replied.

_Alright..._ Xoshi then began hearing an explanation of what had been exchanged between the Star Spirits, White Rose, and the Star Warrior. It was basically just a repeat of what he was told that fateful night when he began sharing his head with this otherworldly being, but with a few more details. It all got Xoshi curious about something.

_Beel?_ he asked, walking down that glittering, purple path.

_Yes?_ his head-mate replied.

_I-_

"So, you're famous," White Rose interjected.

"Huh?" Xoshi asked.

"The Star Spirits. They said that you were one of the eight Yoshies that brought an end to a great disaster caused by a Magikoopa by the name of Kamek. That makes you famous, does it not?" the knight pointed out.

"Well..." Xoshi said, scratching the back of his head. "Probably."

"One question," the sword-wielder added. "What exactly did they mean when they said another person was assigned this task, but you got elected instead?"

Xoshi consulted with Beel about this one. _Should I tell him?_ he asked.

_If you want,_ was the advice.

_I don't._

_Then don't._

_How do I tell him that I don't want to tell him?_ Beel told him how to do this.

"Um," Xoshi began. "It... uh... long story. Really long story."

White Rose stalled. "I see..." The walking continued a little more. Still, the place remained galactic and bedazzling. The knight spoke again. "I suppose we have more important things to worry about, hm?"

"Yeah," Xoshi concurred. The talking ended, but the walking carried on. At last, Xoshi could return to his question.

_Beel?_ he tried again.

_Yes, Xoshi._

_You star people... You keep bringing up how this 'oncoming evil' is gonna show up and kill everybody, or something,_ the Yo'ster pointed out. _I gotta know: who... or what... exactly is it that needs to die so badly? What'll happen if we don't do something about it?_

Beel let a pause come after that. Finally, Xoshi got an answer. _You really want to know?_

_Yes. Please._

Beel hesitated once more. Once again, the Yoshi's words were acknowledged. _Alright..._

* * *

"Huh. So that's what happened," Boshi mumbled. The two of him and Prof. E. Gadd were sitting down in a booth at a tavern of some sort. The proffessor had told him all about what happened that unfortunate night when the six of him, his friends, and two thieves were attacked by nine ghosts and when the ship exploded sending a good few of them flying sky-high. Boshi took a cookie off of his plate and took a bite out of it. "It clears things up, that's for sure," the shaded Yoshi said beneath his breath. The scientist nodded. Boshi swallowed and said something else. "But what happened to all the other guys? Where'd they go?"

Prof. E. Gadd held out his hands, unknowingly. "Beats me, friend. Maybe they landed somewhere in Mario Land, too. Who knows?"

"So this is Mario Land..." Boshi mused.

"Indeed. Did you know that my friend, Dr. Kamenstein, used to be the royal vizier of the royal family of this country?"

"He did, huh?" Boshi said.

"Yes. Too bad it didn't work out, though. The three of us and-"

"-So what now?" Boshi interrupted.

"Well, now I plan on unveiling the mysteries of this flower," said the knowledgeable man, holding up his prize. "Surely, it will bring me to a better understanding of the ghosts I find so interesting."

"Yeah, that's great. But what am I gonna do?" Boshi demanded.

"Well..." E. Gadd placed a finger against his lip. "You could try and find a way back home."

"I could do that," the blue Yo'ster responded.

"Or you could go on a search for your friends, THEN try and find a way back home."

"That, too," Boshi said. He ate another cookie. This time, he did so by snatching it off the plate with his tongue like a whip. Prof. E. Gadd suddenly yawned and stretched.

"Well, it's getting late," he said.

"Yeah, I guess..." Boshi looked out the window of the booth to his left. He could see a landscape of houses, trees, and roads, all of them dim beneath a starry sky. He looked at the sparkly little white things through his pale reflection and organized his thoughts.

_So I just yelled at a guy for ruining everything for me, Yoshi, Xoshi, and Yazzee,_ he was thinking. _Turns out, it wasn't his fault afterall. Some ghosts did this to us._ He looked away from the window, saw the last cookie on his plate, and snapped it into his mouth. _If only I knew where they were and what they were doing..._

* * *

With each passing second, the night was getting older, and the three of Carro, Boscis, and King Carrot were getting closer to the place they were in before they decided to head off for that casino they had just paid an interesting visit to. Its condition and a few other things were exactly what was on the leader's mind.

_Two things terrorizing the place,_ he thought darkly. _They could be anyone or anything. Still, no use taking any chances. Either we take care of this little problem, or we all suffer. I've made MY choice..._ The journey continued...

* * *

Four people were surrounding a campfire once again. For the second time on their adventure, they had a night-sky to sit beneath and a nice warm flame to bask in the glow of. Of course, this had been another occasion for the quartet to relax and swap a few stories. The muscular one was taking his turn to do so at this point.

"...So, loudly and proudly, from now on whenever people ask who it was that saved Goomba Grove from the fake Goomba King, they'll say that it was four great people named Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey," he said, nodding assuredly. The others visibly had mixed feelings about this.

"Whatever, Shy Guy," said his grey cohort.

"Big Guy!" he corrected again.

"Right."

"Well, you know what they say," said the axe-wielder, "names aren't important."

"Hmph," the boy grunted. He tilted his head back, looking at the dark canvass with his arms folded and his face scowling. "I get all the luck," he said. "I know that technically I'm only about ten years old now, but that doesn't change the fact I'm a grown man."

"You're so cute," the bodybuilder teased. He got a glare in return.

"Hush," the boy demanded. Next, it was the bug's turn to speak.

"Say... Big Guy..." he said.

"Yeah... Chogun?" the other person played along.

"What exactly is it like inside this temple, anyway?"

The brutal 8-Bit shook his head. "Can't say," he replied. "I've never actually been in there, myself. I've just heard about it."

"Well then, what have you heard?" the insect man asked.

"I heard there are monsters in there," was the answer. "They probably won't be wanting us hanging around, so... keep your dukes up, okay?"

The one called Chogun pumped a three-fingered arm. "Yes, sir!" The one he said this to suddenly let out a yawn while waving a hand in front of his face. The others looked at him expectantly.

"Alright, everyone," he said. "Lights out. For real, this time." The others agreed to go along with this, and so for the second time they began to get themselves ready for a little siesta. The next day would be the big one...

_Shy Guy... Er, Big Guy... sure knows a lot,_ one of them thought. _Maybe I've been too hard on him in the past..._

_Pah! Monsters. Like they'll be any different from those Goombas that tried us before,_ thought another. _I'll be ready. My axe will chop them all down! And then we'll win our prize..._

_That muscle-brain enjoys tormenting me,_ a different one moped. _They all do. This has to end, and it has to end soon._ He thought about his newfound weapon. _It should be a piece of cake with this new gun of mine. I can shoot lasers now... just like Laser Snifit..._

_I'm such a good leader,_ the last one thought. _Go me..._

* * *

Raphael, the Raven, looked up at the endlessly stretching ocean of tiny cosmic speckles. Things may have gotten significantly simpler for him and the rest of the island, but still his stomach remained feeling somewhat on the queasy side. Something just plain wasn't right.

_It's great to be back,_ he thought. _I have the tree back and everything. However..._ Another minute detail tapped him on the shoulder. _It was being guarded by an odd little creature named Razule. I wonder: who or what was he and where did he come from? What does he want? Where is he now and what is he doing?_ The huge bird stared at the constellations a while longer, and then he shook his head. _Perhaps it doesn't concern me,_ he concluded. _I have shoes to fill in..._

* * *

The more trees flew past the trio, the more they could see that soon the forest could be put behind them and the beach could be put in front of them. The Goomba they had enlisted was doing a fine job piloting the new vehicle. Finally, the last two masses of bark and leaves whizzed past them, and soft, crunchy sand could be beneath their giant foot. Ren saw the foamy water lapping against the edge of this place, and got a little nervous.

"Razule," he asked. "Shouldn't we stop or something?? This thing can't go on water!!"

"Au contraire, my dear friend! This thing can do ANYTHING!!" Razule retorted. "Show 'im, Princy!"

"Roger," said the Goomba. The edge of the water was getting dangerously close to the huge, stomping foot. Ren's nerves were only getting more and more shot. He watched in doubt and a little fear, and he shut his eyes tightly. He waited for the inevitable downfall of this machine. But then... SPLOOSH! SPLOOSH! SPLOOSH! Shocked by the sound of this noise, he opened his eyes and looked around. Had he gone nuts? Was what he was witnessing real? His eyes told him that this gigantic shoe was capable of hopping across water as though it were more land.

He was astounded. Sitting back in pure awe and disbelief, he said, "Well I'll be!!"

Razule chuckled. "Toldja!" Ren looked behind himself. He could tell Kariboo Island was that mass of trees and whatnot gradually becoming even more of a a small thing in the background every fleeting moment. He turned his head around and relaxed.

_He's a weirdo,_ he thought, _but he never ceases to amaze me..._

* * *

_The "oncoming evil" that we speak of is a person,_ Beel said. Xoshi and White Rose were still walking through a sparkly place at the time. Beel's explanation continued. _This person has made some pretty complicated plans and is already carrying them out. This person has already managed to get a good number of people as a faithful crew as part of these plans. Thus, there is an organization somewhere out there on the move. Unless we do something about it, together, they'll get a hold of a gigantic castle. However, this would be no ordinary castle. It would be one that allows its ruler to do a variety of different things, thereby making it an incredible source of power._ Xoshi's eyes widened at the sound of this. He listened further. Such power should not fall into the wrong hands. Only seven people with seven wands can stop it. That is the meaning of this journey.

Xoshi was still quite surprised by these words. He let a few seconds drift by so he could think it over. Finally, he responded. _I see..._ he said. _Sounds like quite an enemy we've got..._

_Quite..._ With that out of the way, the heroes could further their journey through the starry place with fewer things on their minds while a certain force out there was at work...

* * *

"Oh, really..." Dr. Kamenstein. "And whose fault was that?"

Storko stalled and stammered. He played nervously with the feathery tips of his wings trying to look for words. "Um, uh," he hesitated. "M-Mine?"

The doctor had his back turned towards the stork with his hands folded behind him. The three of them and Marilyn were in the Madscikoopa's living room talking about what had happened a certain night. Storko was in a cold sweat, standing up, and Marilyn was smothering her face with a handkerchief, sitting down. The lab-coat-wearing Terra Pin was also standing. He heard his creation's answer, grimaced, and swung a fist against one of the walls. He kept it there, keeping his inhaling and exhaling very strict. The woman watched him in discomfort. He shook his head in a somber tone. He removed his hand and walked over to his female guest who was still tearful. He stood before her. "Madame," he said. The mother sniffled a little more looking back at him. "Tommorrow, I can fly you back to Gana Village. It's the least I can do." The woman nodded and wiped more moisture from her eyes. Dr. Kamenstein shook his head. He folded his arms behind himself and walked away from the woman. He went up to the wall once again, looking at the floor.

_I spent all these years guarding that strange music-box,_ he thought. _All these years... Now Annabyss can walk among us once more... Who knows what will happen..._

* * *

Annabyss, along with Tessa and the Kamenstein Bros., was back on the Kame Cruiser. Once again, Wario and Waluigi were piloting the ship. Annabyss was in her usual spot behind Wario, but at that point, Tessa was taking up a similar one behind Waluigi. Beyond the windshield, they could see a dark version of Sarasa Land and its sand-rimmed edge. They could finally put this place behind them and move on. All four of them seemed to be enjoying the trip immensely.

"Annie?" Tessa said. The prettily-eyed woman turned her head towards the girl. "How long do we have to wait until we get to Uaurpe?"

"It takes a few days, more or less, dearie. You'll just have to be patient," the royal silhouette responded.

"Okay," Tessa said.

"That is, of course," Annabyss added, "should we not have to encounter any delays along the way."

Tessa laughed. "What could happen?" she asked.

"Anything." The two females returned their heads to watching what the windshield had to show them. At this moment, Sarasa Land was about to be a thing of the past within seconds. Letting patience overcome her and deciding not to worry about anything, Tessa began to nod off. She closed her eyes and tilted her head to one side. Annabyss, of course, remained staring, wide awake. The two of the creepy Kamenstein Bros. resumed piloting the transportation device with big toothy grins on their faces as usual. Then suddenly...

WHAM!! Something hard and heavy rocked the ship. Its four passengers were nearly thrown out of their seats. The Kamenstein Bros. were a little startled and Tessa snapped wide awake, but Annabyss remained calm.

"Annie?!" Tessa said. "What was that?!"

"Someone doesn't want our company," she said. "Boys, time to accelerate."

"Ja, Madame." The plane then started to fly through the sky at an even faster rate. However...

WHAM!! They were hit again. Fear swept the room once again, but Annabyss just looked annoyed.

"Keep flying, boys," she ordered.

"Ja, Madame." They did just that. Their speedy method of doing this didn't last long, though.

WHAM!!! Another hit rocked their world. Annabyss and Tessa could see through the main window before Wario and Waluigi that the sky was starting to disappear from sight. Tessa got worried. "Annie?" she said. "Are we gonna die?"

"No, we're not." Annabyss stood up from her seat while Tessa clung to hers. Neither was an easy task since the plane's center of gravity was gradually beginning to shift.

"Was werden wir, Madame machen?" the boys asked.

"Just hop into my mouth." Wario and Waluigi hopped out of their seats and turned around. Annabyss had transformed herself into a giant Goomba with colorful eyes. The altered woman opened up a fanged maw and the two brothers hopped right in. Tessa looked at this in pure confusion.

"Are you sure this is- OOMPH!!" Wario reached out of the woman's mouth, grabbed onto the girl's arm, and pulled her in. The three of them disappeared inside Annabyss's mouth and let her do the rest. By now, the windshield was showing a deep set of ravines with steep walls as something the plane was on a collision course for. Not wanting the ship to slant any further, Annabyss commenced turning around, walking through the door, and down the aisle of seats. She could see that the vicinity was starting to smoke, but had to dismiss it. Once she found the door, she fried the whole thing off with a quick zap from one of her eyebeams, steadied herself, and leapt out.

Two different things fell from the sky. One of them, a flaming plane about to crash into the ocean, and the other, a black-and-white Goomba falling from where the jet just happened to be a second ago. Annabyss was plummetting at first, letting the rocky place below come closer and closer, but then FWOOMP! A dark parachute opened up from behind her, and the massive Goomba woman could begin floating down to safety.

The slow-placed drop to the stone-filled sanctum that awaited her arrival was a long one. What felt like hours seemed to endlessly drag by. In a very sluggish manner, the nothingness surrounding her began to shift from being the air above a gorge with steep sides to being the air within the premises of all that. Tall, flat rocks constructing the valley was all around Annabyss. Finally after the extensive wait, the magical woman was able to land on her feet and let the humungous parachute float down to the ground behind her. It was still flattening itself out once she opened her mouth back up. The three of Tessa and the Kamenstein Bros. at last could hop out and start walking on rocky terrain. Annabyss reverted back to her Anuboo form. Tessa looked around at the vaguely mountain-like area they were then in. She turned around and looked at Annabyss.

"Annie? Where are we?" she asked.

Annabyss walked past her and the two men of the group. "Ganchan Canyon," she said. "A place of falling rocks. We should be careful."

"Ohhh," Tessa moaned. "What are we gonna do now?"

Annabyss glided onward along the rocky path. To her left was a merciless pit and to her right was another one of the ravine's stone walls. "We press onward," she said.

Tessa looked a little puzzled by this. Wario and Waluigi turned, looked at her, folded their arms, and nodded. They spun themselves around again and started goose-stepping in unison after the woman. Tessa stayed behind for a while longer.

Tessa looked a little puzzled by this. Wario and Waluigi turned, looked at her, folded their arms, and nodded. They spun themselves around again and started goose-stepping in unison after the woman. Tessa stayed behind for a while longer.

_Annie is strange,_ she thought. _But I trust her..._ Soon, she started trotting after the other three. Their journey through Ganchan Canyon had come to a start...

* * *

_This is it. The big ceremony..._ Dark thoughts went through William's mind. He was at the end of a large, rectangular, and wooden room. The place was rimmed with more Death Sickles, all of which dressed in robes and sitting down. A good portion of them had grey skin, white hair, and all that. Still, they gave the creeps to the young boy. Like the rest of them, he was wearing one of those strange robes, only the hood was down. He and the powerful Minister Zelm were standing on a platform of sorts. Between them was some type of pedastal with a basin built into it. In the background, a choir was singing some eerie music. Once it stopped, the minister cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Brothers and sisters," Zelm spoke in his authoratative voice, "we are gathered here today in honor of the newest Death Sickle. A young one, albeit a rather energetic one, overflowing with potential. Soon, he shall be one with us. He shall be the next thread in our woven band of purity. With his assistance, we shall see to it that the Twelve Gods of Chaos will be smitten and peace and glory will once again reign over the lands..." The exalted old man dipped his creepy right hand into the basin and pulled it out with some water filling up his cupped palm. Droplets of the liquid streamed between his aged fingers as he drifted it away from him. "Lower your head, boy," he ordered. With his eyebrows scrunched slightly downward, William obeyed this. The elderly man took his hand and let the water trickle down onto his black hair. "Let holiness bind you and guide you for the rest of eternity." Little beads of the water coiled down and dripped off of each of the boy's hairs, making tiny splashes back into the basin. Zelm got another handful and did the same thing with it as the other one. "May darkness never befall you nor tempt you." William's hair became even more sopping wet. Zelm gave him another round of this with the final handful. "May you ensure an everlasting victory in our campaign against the Twelve Gods of Chaos..."

_When is it gonna be over?_ William moped with his hair drenched.

"Arise," Zelm told the boy. William lifted his head up letting miniscule projectiles of the liquid fall from his hair and drip onto his robe. Zelm walked around the pedestal and confronted William. "Your hands," he said. William held them both out. Zelm grabbed them both and placed them together, keeping them sandwiched between his own. He looked William straight in the eye. "From this day forth, your name shall be Hyrg. You shall be the swordsmsan of the ages. The oasis in the desert. A tempest in a small package..."

_I'm not William anymore??_

"You shall be known as Hyrg, you shall be called Hyrg, and you will answer only to Hyrg," Zelm elaborated. "Is that understood, Hyrg?"

The renamed boy hesitated. "Yes," he said.

"Good." Zelm let go of the boy's hands and stood back. "The ceremony is complete. You are now one of us. Your training as a Death Sickle begins tommorrow..."

The new Death Sickle stood on that platform beside the pedestal in deep thought. The creepy chorus was starting to sing again. _So I'm Hyrg now,_ he thought. _I swear, this whole Death Sickle thing just keeps getting weirder and weirder..._ The moment he had been waiting for had come and gone. Now other things were lying in wait for him. It had been an interesting night for quite a few people, and it wasn't over yet...

* * *

He and Bowser were standing across from eachother in the middle of one of the mansion's hallways. Kamek posed, gripping his wand and letting its jewel tremble and begin to glow brighter and brighter. Bowser only stood in a fighting stance, glaring at the crafty Magikoopa. Then FWOOSH!! Kamek fired a swirl of a triangle, a square, and a circle at the tyrannical Koopaling. Bowser merely hopped out of its way and let it blast a steaming hole into the wooden floor.

"Ha ha, Kamek! You missed!" Kamek muttered something obscene beneath his breath. Bowser got back into his stance. "Now it's my turn!!" Bowser puffed his little chest out with his snout raised up into the air and his cheeks bloated.

"Oh, dear," Kamek said. He turned tail and fled, or at least tried to. FFOOOOOMM!! Bowser unleashed a powerful blast of flaming breath, and Kamek was caught in its line of fire, literally. The sorceror suddenly stopped his movements as a magical Terra Pin clad in ash-black clothes and even skin. He remained in his mid-running position, wheezed, then collapsed onto the floor with a few dark clouds billowing from beneath his defeated body.

"YES!!" Bowser hissed. He jumped up into the air with one arm pumped and then started doing a victory dance.

"I hereby declare Prince Bowser Koopa the winner! Well done, son!" Gorroh had been there the whole time and was quite pleased with the outcome.

"I coulda beat 'im with one claw tied behind my back!" Bowser boasted while jabbing at invisible enemies with a smug look on his face.

"Shoot! I let my guard down," Kamek mumbled.

That was when Helga walked into the room. "Honey, have you seen- BOWSER!! What are you doing out of bed?! You're not healed yet!!" she spazzed once her eyes had been laid on her prancing son.

Gorroh looked at the woman, holding his arms out. "Not to worry, my dear. Bowser is back in action and with more spunk than ever before! He even beat up Kamek!" Helga's attention then turned to the collapsed, soot-covered Kamek lying on the ground. She walked a little closer to him.

"KAMEK!! What have I told you about beating up my son?! You oughtta be ashamed of yourself!!" Kamek didn't answer. He remained motionless on the floor.

"No, no, no," Gorroh chided. He walked past his triumphant son and beside his hysterical wife. "You shouldn't yell at him, dear! Afterall, he's taught our son so much! When things don't go your way, make them go your way! When you get pushed, push back! And the best defense is a formidable offense! Such is the way of a Koopa."

Helga turned her head and glared at him. "Such is the way that'll get our son killed!" She then jerked herself around, strut away from her spouse and up to her enthused son. She knelt down and suddenly ensnared him in a massive hug.

"Hey, hey, hey! What gives?!" Bowser demanded.

"Oh, Bowsie, did that mean ol' Magikoopa hurt you, darling?" she asked, still having her arms wrapped around her offspring.

"Aw, no, mama. He couldn't even touch me! He was a wimp."

"Oh, thank goodness!!" Helga blurted. She gave him another tightening hug and leg go. She placed her clawed hands on her knees, kneeling before the tyke. "How do you feel?"

"I feel gweat!" Bowser started flexing his muscles, still feeling invigorated by his newfound victory. "See, mama? No more ouchies!"

Helga tilted her head at the Koopa child. Not anywhere on him could she spot a single cut, bruise, or bandage. He was good as new. "Really?" she breathed.

"Yup! I'm weady to get dhose stupid Yoshies now!" he declared.

"Indeed you are, son! However, I'm afraid that's not 'til later..." Gorroh walked away from the downed Kamek with his arms folded behind him up to his two familymembers. Like Helga, he, too, knelt down before the younger one. Bowser looked at him confusedly. "True, those Yoshies did something really bad to us... and you, too! But I'm afraid they are our number two priority."

"Wha?! Dhen what's number one?!" Bowser said.

Gorroh smacked a fist into his palm. "It's those Marios! THEY are our real target! If we don't get them first, then they'll come and get us!" Gorroh placed a hand on one of Bowser's tiny shoulders. "Tommorrow morning, son, you'll go with Kamek to Mario Land so you can kidnap a few babies and maybe a few other things while you're at it! That wimpy Magikoopa needs someone tough like you around in order to do it anyway! Isn't that right, son?"

Bowser nodded. "Yeah! Dhat doofus needs all dhe help he can get!"

"That's the spirit! Plus, if you pull this off, you'll have even more wimps to beat up! How does that sound?" Gorroh encouraged.

Bowser nodded again. "Sounds gweat!" He started punching at the air before him. "Lemme at 'em. Lemme at 'em!"

Gorroh chuckled. "You'll get 'em soon enough, son. However, I'm afraid right now, it's past your bedtime." Gorroh removed his hand from the little tyrant's shoulder and proceeded to hoist him off of the floor.

"Aw, geez," Bowser moped while being lifted through the air. Soon, he was resting on Gorroh's right shoulder who was carrying him up the stairs. Helga was following.

"Dear, is this entirely right?" she asked. "I mean... kidnapping babies??"

"Of course it's right, dear. I kidnapped YOU, didn't I?"

"True..."

The voices of the parents trailed off. Kamek was still on the ground and in pain. "Hello?" he croaked. "Did everyone forget about me? It's past MY bedtime, too..." Unfortunately for the mage, noone heard his pleas. He breathed a sigh and continued lying down. A while after that, Doppel floated into the room with an icepack held against his head. He stopped hovering through his gigantic home once he looked down.

"Oh, Kamek! What a pleasant surprise," he said. "So, what happened to you? Did you get hit on the head, too, or something? Do tell."

"Uugghhhh..." Kamek groaned.

"I see," Doppel said. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but right now, I have some very important work to do." He then started floating through the halls once more. "Busy, busy, busy!" His voice trailed off, too. The ghost-like man left the vicinity, and the ill-fated Magikoopa was left all alone once again.

"I hate my life..." he grumbled...

* * *

Har-Harlequin sat in the middle of the painted Clattagin Woods somewhere. The nine of her and the rest of her partymembers were in an opening and were all quite motionless, especially Jester, Night Guy, Ba-doyng, Katunk, Taffy Kong, Groove Guy, Groovum, and Rudy. However, the whole lot of them were all encased beneath damp statues of ice, all of which had their fair share of runny droplets of water sliding right off of them and disappearing into the colorful grass of the woods. Har-Harlequin looked at her frozen comrades, then at Ba-doyng's missing leg, then at the Clown Copter, then all around her at the strange leaves of this forest's trees. The ugly woman heaved a sigh.

"Well I'm here," she said, "but the others aren't..." She continued sitting in that opening, waiting patiently for the other clowns to thaw. Then she heard something. The sound of flopping against the ground was headed towards her. She looked up and saw it. It was a Cheep-Cheep with a beret on his head, a paintbrush in one hand, a paint palette in the other, squinty eyes, and skin that was mostly white with variously colored splotches all over him. Somehow, this fish out of water was able to hop its way through the trees, into the field and on up to the unattractive sorceress. The Cheep-Cheep was smiling. The witch only blinked in confusion.

"Hola!" said the Cheep-Cheep. "Mi nombre es Pablo Picarpso. Would you like your skin to be a painted a new color? I have everything. Rojo, naranja, amarillo... You name it!"

Har-Harlequin scowled. "I don't want my skin to be painted a new color. Now beat it!!"

"Muy bien entonces," said the fish. "I shall take my business elsewhere. Until next time, Seniorita, beunos noches!" The eccentric Cheep-Cheep turned around and hopped back into the same stretch of trees it came from. After that, he disappeared, and the female magic-user was alone again.

"Peculiar forest," she said under her breath.

"Mmm..." Her eyelids flew up. She had just heard a rather familiar voice come from somewhere nearby. It was high-pitched, and it was scratchy. She turned her head to the right and she could see that the enormous Rudy was still coated in a layer of sopping, melting ice, but also that he was beginning to twitch. His eyes were blinking and his mouth was squirming. "Har-Harlequin?" he asked. "Is that you? Where are we? Who was just talking?"

"Nobody," she replied. "We're in the Clattagin Woods right now. I flew everyone here after that crazy Madscikoopa froze you all! It was a disaster."

"Really?" Rudy asked. "Hmm... I'd take my hat off for you, Har-Harlequin, but I'm afraid I can't lift my arms."

"You're still thawing," she said. "Give it time."

"Yes," the tremendous clown exclaimed. "And then... we'll be able to find out where our music-box is!"

"Yes," Har-Harlequin agreed. She resumed her sitting and waiting. The others continued thawing, and Rudy began struggling to get his other limbs moving again.

_Tondariya,_ he thought. _We're coming for you!_

All of this was being observed by a certain female Magikoopa. Secretly, she floated above them in the night-sky on her broomstick, making careful observations.

"So, clowns are now on the premises of the Clattagin Woods. Look out, Koopa Klan! You've got competition! Bleh heh heh heh heh heh hehh..."

"Har-Harlequin, did you hear something?" Rudy inquired.

"I did not."

"Okay..."

* * *

Kammelina and Kammeo were still in their bubbles floating somewhere down deep beneath the waves. They had been searching and searching, but with no luck. It was getting dark, and Kammeo was getting exhausted.

"Sister," she huffed. "can we rest?! We've been at it for days!!"

"Just a few more minutes, Kammeo," her sibling replied. Kammeo groaned and the looking continued. Kammelina's eyes were getting heavy with more and more bags, but she didn't quit keeping them peeled for anything suspicious. To her left, there was nothing but water, rocks, and marine life. To her right, there was pretty much the same thing. Doubt was beginning to set itself on her shoulders. Then she saw something on the ground that brightened her mood. "Look, sister! A clue!" Kammeo stopped hovering and looked at the other Magikoopa. She noticed she was picking up a wet broken bottle off the ground. She held it up to her face and took a good look at it through her spectacles. "Do you know what this means, Kammeo?" she asked.

"People pollute?" the younger sibling replied, sarcastically.

"No! It means we're getting closer!"

"How does a broken bottle mean we're getting close?"

"Rrrgg... Nevermind!!" Kammelina threw the bottle to the ground. It passed through her bubble quickly, but soon became engulfed by the liquid of the ocean. It bounced slowly off the ground of this place, then floated to a stop. "Come on. Let's just keep looking..."

"Whatever you say..." grumbled the younger one. With hardly any more luck they had a second before that, the two witches continued their search. It was only a matter of time until that Marinotroplan swine's blood could be theirs...

* * *

"...So then I pushed the button, and we were off! It was amazing, boss," Crookie explained.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Sackle commented. The two of them were sitting on the floor against one of the lab's walls and next to one of its counters swapping more stories. This time, Crookie was doing the majority of the talking.

"Yeah, but the best part was when-"

"-SACKLE!! CROOKIE!!" Mad Scienstein interrupted them. He was standing in the middle of one of the doorways looking very excited. "I FOUND IT! THE WAY BACK! I FOUND IT!"

"Whoa!" Crookie exclaimed.

"That's good to hear!" Sackle said. The two thieves got up off the floor and ran up to the scientific man. "Where is it?" Sackle asked.

"In here," Mad Scienstein replied. He turned around and motioned forward with his hand. Sackle and Crookie followed. The three of them found themselves inside another one of the rooms of the cave-like place. In the middle of it was something transparent and blue, floating and rotating in midair with two eyes, a round body, eight spikes surrounding it, and sparkles drifting down from it. Its top three spikes had balls sticking out of them. Mad Scienstein watched it in satisfaction and the two burglars watched it in awe.

"What is it?" Sackle asked.

"A magical item," the scientist answered. "Touch it, and you'll find yourself right back where you started."

"Oh, goodie!" Crookie said. "Boss, come on!" Crookie quit standing around and ran towards it. Sackle grabbed him by the collar causing him to fall down. "GWU-OOMPH!!"

"Not so fast, Crookie," said the boss. He let go of Crookie and let the apprentice stand on his own, straightening himself out. Sackle looked Mad Scienstein straight in the eye.

"Yes?" said the taller man.

"Mr. Mad Scienstein, sir, me and Crookie were wondering if it'd be possible for you to lend us one of your Giga Moles. Just for a little while." Sackle bent down to his knees with his hands folded in front of him and a sorrowful look in his eyes. "Pleeeaaase?"

"Hmmm..." Mad Scienstein lifted up a hand and rubbed his beard with it. "Welll... I only have one so far... It's a fully-operational prototype, too, and, ummm..." The weird inventor rubbed his scalp and looked at the ceiling with his eyes squinting. He suddenly puffed a quick sigh out of his mouth and dropped his arm. He looked back at Sackle who was still looking desperate. "Okay," he said. "Just promise you'll return it."

Sackle suddenly jolted upright off of the floor and grabbed the man's left hand and started shaking it vigorously with both of his. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You have no idea what this means to me, er, us. Really! Mad, my boy, you're a true friend. A true one, I tell ya. Oh, and don't worry, you'll have your precious little prototype back in no time. No time!"

Mad Scienstein returned a strange look to the eager Sackit. "Yes, quite," he said.

Sackle turned to his younger cohort. "Come on, Crookie. We got a Giga Mole to hop into!"

"Right-oh, boss!" Together, the two of them ran out of the room and up to that very robot. Mad Scienstein stared for a second or two, then ran after them...

* * *

Somewhere out there, nine people were gathered in the middle of a swamp. They were arranged in a circle on some grass that was surrounded by various bodies of murky water with all kinds of strange plants growing out of them complete with all the trees, moss, bushes, lilly pads, shrubs, and whatnot a swamp could ask for. It was overflowing with different organisms, but it was not a cheerful place. All these things came in brown, tan, beige, and grey rather than the healthy green and jade. Beneath the night-sky, one of these people was saying something. Every time he spoke, another person would respond.

"Jax?"

"Here."

"Holy Troopa?"

"I'm here."

"Spatula?"

"Ahoy."

"Cherry Blossom?"

"Present."

"Yoshiki?"

"Yes."

"Dorreen?"

"Here."

"Big Boo?"

"Heheheh... Here."

"And King Boo."

"Here."

"Then we're all here." The creepy Yoshi that managed to lure a few Yoshies into an elaborate trap earlier stuffed away a piece of paper and let the meeting get started.

"Ladies, gentlemen," King Boo said in his freaky voice. All eyes were on him and vice-versa. "We have a rather important matter to discuss..."

The whole crew nodded in agreement, including Jax and his fellow werewolf. One of the members of it was kind of a nerdy-looking Para Troopa. His shell was sky blue, his glasses were thick, and the arrow-case strapped across his chest and around his back was evident, but his angel wings kept him afloat in midair almost with a majestic air. Another member was the pirate woman, Spatula. Her ghostly tail seemed to be merged with her silky green outfit which covered up only her breasts. She had a very pretty face and long black hair that was tied up in a low-cut ponytail. Two locks of it framed her face, and the top of her head adorned a red bandanna. However, she was more dangerous than she looked. Another one was Cherry Blossom. She had a ghostly tail, too, and it merged with her skin-tight orange and red colored spandex which showed off every other curve of her body. Her eyes were green and she had a matching pair of earrings. Her hair was long, fluffy, and blood-red. Atop her head was a little green crown. She never looked too happy. Then there was Yoshiki. She basically looked like any other pink Yoshi girl, but had no legs. Her Yoshi tail doubled as a specter-like one. As for Dorreen, she looked a little more like Spatula and Cherry than Yoshiki. She donned a green night-dress and she wore her long black hair down with no ponytail. One of the few differences between Big Boo and King Boo was King Boo's glowing blue tongue and his ruby red crown. He continued with the meeting.

"Through Operation Sunshine, we have only managed to obtain so many souls," King Boo said. "That was thanks to our two werewolves and our ship, the S. S. Dolpic. However, we don't have a ship anymore. It's in shambles! And it's all thanks to that no-good freak in a lab-coat and his stupid household appliance." The ghost curled his fins into fists and let them tremble. "Apparently, we must take our measures even further. Think, people! We're King Boo and the Eight Spookalings, we're in the middle of the swamp, and we need souls. Any ideas?" Noone answered. King Boo spazzed. "WELL?!?"

"Look up there," Jax said, pointing to the stars. Everyone, including King Boo, did so. Something long, green, and snake-like was swimming around at a high altitude. Their necks and heads turned as this thing swam through the air and off to its next destination. Everyone visually expressed their wondering about this phenomenon. King Boo topped it off.

"No idea what that was..." he mused. He got their attention again. "Anyway, come on, people. Start thinking! If we don't get those souls, who knows what this world will come to?!" All the morbid members of this gang began to scratch their heads and their chins, and fold their arms, squint, stare, and tap their feet in their effort to come up with a solution for this matter. It was probably not going to be easy.

_Whatever,_ the creepy wereyoshi thought. _One way or another, we'll think of something... eventually..._

* * *

"...And remember not to let it run too low on power."

"Right."

"Be careful not to confuse the missile button with the eject button."

"Uh-huh."

"And whatever you do, don't mash the force-field button, even if it's-"

"-Okay, okay, Mad, we get the picture." Sackle and Crookie were sitting in two seats that were hidden somewhere inside the Giga Mole's neck. It's mechanical head was on hinges of some sort, so the two guys could see Mad Scienstein down below and hear him briefing them on how to run the device. Since that was overwith, it was time to initiate the next phase in their plan.

"Alright," Mad said. "Just... be careful!"

"Don't worry," Sackle reassured. Crookie pressed a certain button and the head began to put itself back onto its neck with a few whirring noises. Within moments, KA-CHUNK! It was back on. Inside the head, a red light or two was the only thing illuminating things for the two people, allowing them to see a control panel surrounding them and the lab through the window of the eyes that the head included. They saw Mad Scienstein take a few steps back. Sackle turned his head to his left. "You sure you know what you're doing, Crookie?"

"Course I do, boss! Remember what I was telling you about earlier?"

"Oh, right. That..." Crookie grabbed a hold of two levers and started pulling them back and forth, back and forth. In a few seconds, the Giga Mole was officially alive. It was taking long, slow, mechanical strides through the lab, around the scientist that worked in it, and up to the door that had the magical item behind it. Crookie stopped the machine. He started looking around at the control panel, wondering what to do next.

"You sure?" Sackle asked again.

"Yeah, boss!" Crookie responded. Finally, he found it. He pushed the button and the robot's left arm lifted itself up. Crookie kept his eyes on their sparkling blue gem and pressed another button. This caused the extended arm to have its wrist and its hand to suddenly become conjoined by an ever-growing metal tube that kept stretching and stretching through the doorway until the mysterious object was inches away. Crookie looked around some more, then found the right button. He punched that one as well, and the Giga Mole's claws flew open. He pushed another, and the claws closed up on the whirling blue thing. Both Sackle and Mad Scienstein watched the whole thing anticipatingly.

_Alright, thinga-majig,_ Crookie thought. _Do your stuff..._

A light started coming from what the Giga Mole had gotten a hold of. Gradually, the light expanded. At last, the whole vicinity was engulfed in light and all anyone could see was white.

_Whoo-wee! Here we go!_

* * *

Naji and his father were still going at it with eachother. Only this time, they were doing so in the middle of the dirty path surrounding the rock-filled mountain sticking out of the jungle somewhere. Above their heads was a blood-red sky. Its wispy clouds and its setting sun made the whole place seem as though it were on fire. Both fighters were panting heavily. Strands of juicy sweat streaked down their faces. They didn't stop staring at eachother directly into the eyes. Finally, Naji got his wits together, took a deep breath, and one step back. He put both hands to one side of himself and sandwiched some air between them. As he began concentrating, the space between his hands started flashing different colors. His old man was smirking with his arms folded.

"Think you can still beat me, Naji?" he said. Naji scowled. His father shook his head. Once the spell was complete, Naji thrust a step forward and threw his arms out. A tidal wave of freezing needles exploded from Naji's hands and went flying against the parent. Naji's father was completely covered up by frigid little projectiles. Naji watched and waited. When the storm was over, Naji could see what he had done: nothing. His jaw dropped. His father chuckled. "Pitiful," he said. He got into another pose, made a few gestures with his hands, focused as hard as he could and made his retaliation. Naji's eyes widened. BA-ZZAAAAPPP!! Naji's body got electrocuted from top to bottom by a thousand worms of stinging electrons. His world was rocked. He stood and trembled with the electricity eating away at him. Then the flow of power stopped. He stood steaming, then collapsed onto the ground. His father waltzed up to him with his arms folded. He shook his head. "I give you life," he said. "I give you infinite patience. I gave you a lot of things, Naji." Naji's fingers squirmed while he was lying on the ground. His father held his hands out. "What was it all for?" He gestured towards his son. "So I could be the proud parent of a wad of steaming filth lying on the ground?" Naji's fingers made claw marks in the dirt as he quickly scrunched them back into his palms. The father shook his head again. "Admit it, Naji. Your father raised a failure." Naji slowly lifted his head and gave his old man a look that could kill. The older man paid it no mind. He turned around on his heels, kicking dust into the younger one's face. He was walking away. "Whatever, Naji," he said. "If you wanna be a loser, that's fine with me. Afterall, we can't all be successes..." Naji pounded his fists against the ground, scowling. His father just laughed. "Go on, Naji. Have fun working for space aliens. It's probably rewarding. I wouldn't know; I never got captured..."

Naji pushed himself off the ground and staggered to be back on his feet. His gaze never left his reproaching father. He started gathering energy into his palms again. "No," he growled. The light in his hands got brighter. They made the symbol of an orange hexagon. He threw them out firing a humungous boulder at the man. "BUT YOU WERE KILLED ONCE!!!"

His father didn't turn around quick enough. He saw something brown and WHAM!! He flew back from the blow and went sprawling onto the ground. He quickly tried scrambling to get up. SHWACK! SHWACK! He suddenly felt two whips crash against either side of him. He only saw two blurs of green at this, but could feel dozens of incinerating barbs digging deep into his skin. He looked down and could see his arms were covered with monstrous rose thorns, each of them lodged firmly into his scales. He winced at the burning sensation they were seeping into him. He looked up and could see his son was right in front of him. The younger Yoshi made the symbol of a grey explosion, slammed his palm into his father's face and let it loose. His father's head became engulfed in a sea of surging energy. Naji's fingers trembled and his face scowled as he poured all of his strength into this attack. Once it was over, Naji could lower his steaming hand and see the blackened face of his father. All kinds of damage had been done to this man. Without blinking, he stared at his son in pure agony, struggling to respirate through a phlegm-infested throat. He coughed and slowly twisted his mouth into a smile. Naji glared back.

"You once told me," Naji growled, "to never turn your back on the opponent." Two droplets of a thin liquid seaped out from behind the purple Yo'ster's shades and trickled down his face. "You forgot your own teachings, dad," he choked out.

Naji's father stared for a little longer and then he closed his eyes, chuckling weakly. He started coughing and he opened his eyes up again. "Well done, Naji," he said quietly. He was becoming weaker with each passing second. He began to lower himself onto his knees, kneeling down with his head hanging. "You've won the fight, my boy," he said, clutching at his heart. Naji knelt down before him as well, still feeling moisture dripping off his face. He looked into his father's eyes intently. "But it's not over yet." Naji's eyes widened in shock. "Once that white-haired sword freak's gone," he added, "it'll all be over." Naji took his eyes off of his father and looked at the red sky. He squinted them in pure anger.

"Don't worry," Naji said. "I'll take care of him. I promise."

Naji's father smiled. He closed his eyes back up. "That's the spirit." He began to lower his head even further. "Don't let me down, son." Slowly, the father turned to his side and curled himself against the stone ground. He lied there with his son still staring at him in disbelief. He watched carefully as the inhaling and exhaling movements of his father's back got slower and slower. His body dragged out one particularly long one, and remained still. A dagger jabbed Naji in his chest. He winced and slowly drifted one hand up to his eyes. He felt behind his shades and pinched his eyes shut. His lip quivered. He breathed in deeply and let loose a long sigh. The fight between him and his father was over.

"Poor Naji." Naji recognized that voice. He suddenly became filled with a burning sensation that made his whole body begin to quake. He angrily turned around and saw that his arch-nemesis, Cutlass, was right there behind him. The metallic fiend smirked at the Yo'ster with his arms folded. "He kills his friends, he kills his family..." Cutlass chuckled. Naji was standing up with his fists clenched tightly. "I'm all you have left, Naji. Noone else wants you." The infamous swordsman took a few steps closer to the magical Yoshi. "Come with us, Naji. Come with us and you shall be free of pain and sorrow. The world will become a better place, and it will all be thanks to you."

Naji thrust his feet and his hands into another stance. "LIKE I'D GO ANYWHERE WITH YOU, YOU WRETCH!!!" the purple one yelled.

Cutlass noticed the wind beginning to pick up around Naji and frowned. "I see," he said. He ran a hand through his flowing hair with his eyes closed. He opened them up and saw Naji beginning to glow. "If that's the way you want it, I won't argue." He tossed his head back, spread his arms, and let the transformation begin. Various lightning bolts began to twist and coil around his body, each of them making it bigger and more muscular. As the alteration got closer and closer to its completion, more bells rang in Naji's ears. Finally, Cutlass was ready. He was the same gigantic monstrous beast he was when the two of them fought for Noshi and Fyooshi. This behemoth-version of the man got into a fighting stance of his own and beckoned with one hand. "Now come on," he growled. "LET'S FINISH THIS!!" At that moment, both fighters were preparing fiercely to lay their first blows against one another. The next big battle with the heartless swordsman had begun...

* * *

The bright light started fading away, and through their special window, Sackle and Crookie could see that they were back on the grassy path surrounding the volcano that they were on when this all began. Sackle looked at it all in its blue-ish glow beneath the night-sky in satisfaction. He turned to Crookie, reached out, and gave him a nice pat on the back. "Good job, Crookie. Looks like you know your way around afterall."

"Yup!" Crookie replied. He then started looking at all the fancy buttons. "Let's see here, uh..." He scratched his chin a bit. "A-ha!" He found the right button and gave it a push. The Giga Mole mechanically bent forward and started clawing at the ground with its vicious hands. Each swipe caused a large mass of soil and grass to rip out of the ground and be flung behind the giant robot against the volcano. At the same time, the machine was descending into this hole it was tunneling.

"This thing's amazing!" Sackle commented. "We'll find that doll in no time!"

"Yup!" Crookie said again. Seconds, minutes, perhaps even hours passed. This was how long it took for the Giga Mole to get off of Isle Delfino and into its unexplored bowels. Watching with a searchlight or two, the duo of thieves were excited by the sight of all the solid stuff they were clawing through. They felt invincible.

Sackle looked at a rotating computer-generated image of their doll on one of the robot's monitors. "Belome, baby, here we come!!" he announced. Sackle and Crookie's quest for cash was back on track...

* * *

The head space alien sat triumphantly in his chair in the middle of that circular room. Wart was beside him ever faithfully and his crew was working tirelessly away to keep things moving. Their leader smirked and looked at his right-hand man. "We can't fail, Wart," he said. "We're the most dangerous people on the planet. Noone can stop us!"

_"YES, SIR,"_ the gigantic amphibean agreed. A few feet away, one of their silvery minions was busy thinking about other things. He turned to his right and started talking to the same man he was with during that one party.

"Katana," he asked, "what do you think that Yoshi's dreaming about right now?"

The fellow silver shrugged. "What they always dream about: bad memories."

Cutlass nodded. "Yup," he agreed. This whole crew and their tremendous spaceship was busy flying over another stretch of sea. All was going well for the power-hungry people until one of the purple minions had to point something out.

"Captain!" he called. "Something approaches! It has a very... unusual field! I've got the sensors going and everything, but I can't get a clear reading on it!"

His superior squinted his eyes and contemplated. "Go up to Level B-11," he ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the crew-member replied. He twisted a few nobs, took a good look at his screen and was horrified. "Sir!! It's a wormhole of some sort! We've been caught in its vortex! It's dragging us in!!"

"WHAT?!" the captain blurted. "Well, don't just sit there! Get your rear in gear and pull us out of it!!" The person he commanded nodded and started to do just that. The other minions looked at their leader expectantly. "Well?! He's not gonna do this alone, you know! Get to work!!" He got a mixture of different vocalized answers after that. They all agreed to go along with this and see what they could do. The captain sat in his seat keeping his eye on things while everyone was working frantically to turn this situation around.

At the moment the spaceship was indeed being drawn towards something odd. It was a funnel-shaped thing sticking out of nowhere. It appeared to be made of solid gold, it was bigger than the ship, and inside its mouth was where that very thing was headed. It was useless.

"Captain!! We're going nowhere fast!!" another purple crew-member cried.

"This isn't over yet! Keep moving!!" the captain barked. Beads of sweat started rolling down the faces of the room as they struggled to push buttons, twist nobs, and flip switches. At this point, the ship was dangerously close to the hole they were being drawn to. Nothing seemed to be working.

"CAPTAIN!!" he heard again.

"RRG!!" The leader himself was beginning to get rather frustrated. He let his eyes dart right and left. Wart was just as lost as he was. He took a miniscule breath and prepared to give the next order. He was too late. Everyone in the area began to feel some heavy vibrations all around them.

"Oh my gosh," one of the aliens muttered.

The captain saw what was coming. "HOLD ON!!!" he bellowed. Those who didn't obey this order were thrown out of their seats, flung through the air, and slammed into the wall behind them. The ship was then plunging at a faster rate it had ever gone. People clenched their eyes shut and held on for dear life, beginning to feel themselves liquifying it seemed.

_Someone out there hates me,_ the captain thought darkly. With a sea of screams dying out, the funnel had completely sucked up the ship and begin to close in on itself. It spun around and around, getting smaller all the while. Eventually, it was too small to be seen. Both it and the aliens had vanished without a trace...

_Someone out there REALLY hates me..._

* * *

Xoshi and White Rose continued to walk down the starry path. This had been going on for quite some time, so curiosity began to eat away at the white-garbed knight. He had to voice something and soon. "Sir Xoshi," he asked. "Where exactly are we headed now?"

Xoshi had to ask Beel about this one, too. It took him a while to get it out, but he said it. "We going to... Clover Kingdom," he said.

"The Clover Kingdom?" White Rose repeated. Xoshi nodded. "And... how will we get there?"

Xoshi asked about this, too. "Merlinda," he replied. "She can take us... anywere."

"Where shall we find this Merlinda?" the knight inquired.

Xoshi pointed to his left. He and White Rose could see a house at the bottom of a pit that the place seemed to coil into. White Rose nodded and the duo commenced going down some steps in order to arrive at this place. A few more paces through glittery wonder later, and they were there. They walked up some more steps and were right in front of the house's door. There, they saw a note taped on. Xoshi looked at it curiously, but White Rose took it right off and read it aloud.

"'Merlinda is out,'" he read. "'If you have any business with her, she's gone to Merlon's house.'" He lowered the message and the two of him and his partner thought this over. "Well then," White Rose said, "I guess we find a place to settle down for the night, and then we'll seek out Merlon."

Xoshi nodded. Together, the two of them left the front-porch and resumed journeying through the colorful place. Little did they know that they were being watched. A head poked out from behind someplace inconspicuous.

"Uwee hee hee!" the figure giggled. "So many things to water, so little time. And those two... THOSE TWO... they won't get in my way..." The figure disappeared and the night carried on. It had been an interesting one for a good number of people, and their worries were far from over. This was where things were going for Xoshi and the others...

END OF PART 1


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**  
Dr. Kamenstein was in that tremendous storage room of his again. With his female guest beside him, his stork behind him, and the Sky-Pop before him, he pushed a certain button and the trio got to watch the changes begin. The litte device suddenly revealed that it was two halves stuck together. They both spread apart, unveiling that a new seat was hidden behind the pilot's seat all along. Once this was done, Dr. Kamenstein turned and faced the woman. "After you, madame," he said. She nodded and climbed into the seat that just showed up. The doctor himself commenced, similarly, getting into the seat with the control panel in front of it. Storko, in the background, was nervously twitching the tips of his wings. Dr. Kamenstein was well into his seat when he turned and glared at the bird. The product of genetic-engineering felt something hard and heavy plunge into his gut at the look. "And just what are YOU doing just standing there?!" he demanded. Storko jolted.

"Um, uh," he stammered. "Do you...Do you want me to stay behind, sir? You know, to watch everything while you're gone?"

Dr. Kamenstein squinted his eyes in fury at the feathery person. "Why? So you can SCREW THINGS UP EVEN MORE?!" Both Storko and the Madscikoopa's passenger jolted at this outburst.

"Well, um, no, but..." Storko had drops of a cold fluid flinging off of his trembling scalp.

"Look, Storko," Kamenstein said, suddenly grabbing a hold of the side of his plane and flinging himself out. He landed on the ground and the other two people both watched as he approached the bird, menacingly. "I tell you to return the babies to their rightful owners, and you screw up. I order you to be a good host and a good babysitter, and you screw up. Quite frankly, Storko, I'm getting quite sick of you screwing up all the time." Neither of the two of the scientific man or his bird were removing their unblinking gazes from eachother's eyes. "I give you food, I give you shelter..." The lab-coat-wearing man counted on his fingers. "THIS is the thanks you give for me?!"

"But, sir, I-" Storko stammered. Dr. Kamenstein swung an arm to the side. Storko shut up.

"Maybe making you wasn't such a great idea," Dr. Kamenstein said. Storko's heart stopped. Their female guest held her hand before her mouth and watched all this in pure shock. The Madscikoopa looked down at his feet. "Maybe if I never even made you to begin with," the doctor continued, "none of this would have ever happened." He looked up at Storko using eyes that could pierce through steel. "Poison is less harmful than you." Storko gasped and staggered backward at these words. He stared at his creator, shaking terribly. He stared in absolute terror into the doctor's eyes. Finally, he worked his courage up to say something.

"Then...what do you want me to do?"

Dr. Kamenstein snorted. He flipped his head away, turned around, walked towards the Sky-Pop, and heaved himself back in, feeling feminine eyes gawking at him in worry. He started the engine of his device, causing it to vibrate in anticipation. He turned his head around to give one last dreadful look at the bird. "You figure it out." Storko gulped. Dr. Kamenstein made a few more movements and finally got his plane moving. It rolled on through the place at a high speed and began to lift into the air. Its passenger turned around and waved to Storko with a small smile on her face. In return, Storko only gave the smallest of smirks. They flew away into the morning clouds and the stork was left all alone. He stared for a while longer, then mopily turned around and started slowly sauntering back inside the doctor's home.

_I knew he was gonna be mad,_ he thought. _Maybe I really am not good enough for him..._

* * *

"All set and ready to go?" Xoshi and White Rose were standing before the little mushroom person of yet another Toad House. They had gotten their daily dose of sleep and were prepared to attack the new day.

"Yes, we are," replied White Rose.

"Alright then, sirs. You have a nice day and thank you for choosing our services," the Toad said. Xoshi and White Rose took their leave of him. Soon, they were back beneath the sunny sky of the cheerful Toad Town. Toads of all ages were out and about, each of them carrying out their morning routines. The two travelers looked around and took note of the place's streets, trees, grass, and various buldings. One of them had a whirling roof. White Rose looked at it intently.

"That's the one, Sir Xoshi," he said. "The home of Merlon. Once in there, perhaps we'll learn of the whereabouts of Merlinda."

"Mm-hm," Xoshi said.

"Alright," White Rose said. "Let's go." The two of them moved away from the Toad House and onto the street. This was what they crossed before arriving at the door of the house itself. Once there, White Rose extended a gloved fist and knocked.

"Not now! Nobody's home!!" a voice from within called. Xoshi and White Rose exchanged weird looks. White Rose knocked again. "I said go away!!"

"Hmm..." White Rose hummed, holding his fist in front of the door. Again, he knocked.

"Ugh!!" the voice said. At last, the door swung open. Thinking fast, White Rose hopped one step back so the portal wouldn't slam him in the face. The two of him and his partner could see that the person who opened it up was a small Shaman with a big grey mustache. He looked annoyed. "What is it? What do you want?" he demanded. "Can't you see nobody's home?"

"Um," Xoshi hesitated. White Rose took it from there.

"We're looking for Merlinda," he said. "Is she about?"

"My niece, eh?" said the Shaman. "Sure, she's here. What do you need her for?"

"We need to get to the Clover Kingdom," White Rose replied. "We need her in order to get there as quickly as possible."

"Well, that's what she's good for," the Shaman said. "However, I'm afraid you can't have her. She's working on the basement right now, so off with you!"

"What seems...to be the trouble?" Xoshi asked.

"My basement's haunted. It seems some time ago it got possessed by dozens of mischievious, little, otherworldly beings. They're causing a ruckus!" the magical old man explained. "My niece is good for these kinds of things, so I had her come on over to take care of it. She's an exorcist, you know." This was all clear to the man's two visitors. He continued. "But the trouble is, she's been down there for quite some time, and she still hasn't come out! Oh, I fear the worst."

"I see," said White Rose, pressing his fingers where his lips would be behind that veil of his. He put them down. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"You? Help?" said the Shaman.

"Yes," White Rose said.

"If you do this, do you promise to go away and leave me alone?" the Shaman asked.

"We promise," said White Rose.

"Alright, come on in, then." The old man walked away into his home and his two visitors were soon inside as well. They found themselves amidst a single, circular room with a strange glow to it surrounded by curtains. An upraised platform in the middle had a green crystal ball on top with a yellow star in the middle. The Shaman led them to that very thing. "Open!" he said. "Sesame!" With those magic words, the platform flipped to one side and all was revealed: a trapdoor popped open revealing a staircase leading down to someplace dark and mysterious. He turned and looked at the gawking guests. "Alright, you two, now make yourselves useful." Xoshi and White Rose approached the newly-formed staircase. "Good luck!" Unsure of what was in store, the two of them bravely set foot onto the first step and began to descend into this man's infested basement...

* * *

Everyone in the room was sprawled across the floor in various positions. The ordeal they had just endured had a heavy impact on them. It was quite dark in there, and the only light was coming from some of the emergency ones here and there. Getting his wits together, the captain pushed himself off the ground, rubbed his scalp, and stood up. "On your feet!!" he yelled. The underlings within the vicinity obeyed hesitantly. The commander of the organization was beside his superior sweeping dust off him. The purple leader turned to this gigantic frog. "Looks like that portal didn't do us in when it got the chance," he said.

_"YES, SIR,"_ the amphibian agreed. The captain folded his arms and looked around the room expectantly. Most of his men were back in their seats, but were still all very confused and waiting for orders.

"Well?" the captain said. "Any more readings? Where are we?" His minions all got back to work, punching away at keys and whatnot. One of them looked at his screen perplexedly.

"Sir," the purple servant said, "We're in a place surrounded in... brass!" The others all began to let out murmurings of confusion and disbelief. The captain placed his chin between some of his fingers.

"Brass, hmm?" he mused. He put down his hand and placed both arms beside him. "Alright, then. Wart! Cutlass! Katana!" One by one, the frog and both silver space aliens turned to look at their leader. "You're all coming with me. The rest of you stay here and don't mess anything up!"

A purple one had his objections. "But, sir! It could be dangerous out there!"

"Don't underestimate your captain, "the big purple leader growled. "Besides: judging by your earlier actions, this ship should be your place, anyway!!" A good deal of the aliens seemed to shrink by the sound of these words. Cutlass and Katana looked at them in pity. They got up from their seats and walked up to the captain and Wart. The head-honcho folded his arms once more. "Alright, boys," he said, "let's move it."

"Yes, sir," they said at once. The newly formed quartet walked up to the circular room's futuristic door, let it slide upwards, and the four of them walked through. Soon, they were walking around in one of the ship's many cold, sterile halls, lined with various lights, airducts, nuts, bolts, pipes, and steel panels.

"This is what being promoted is all about," Katana privately said to Cutlass. "Getting to go on missions, personally, with the captain." Cutlass grinned mischievously. The four-some continued walking, doing so past various other crew-members while they were at it.

_Now let's see if we can get to the bottom of this,_ the captain thought grimly...

* * *

Xoshi and White Rose had reached the bottom of the staircase. Before their eyes was a maze where the floor, the ceiling, and all the walls were covered in curtains and were glowing strangely like the room they were just in. They could see that a four-way intersection was lying in wait for them.

"Well, then," said White Rose, "let's see if we can get to the bottom of this." Xoshi nodded. The duo moved onward until they were just before where the intersection split into four different directions. "I'll go this way," he said, pointing to the right, "you go that way." He pointed to the left. White Rose gave Xoshi a salute. "Good luck!" Xoshi saluted back and the two of them headed on through the maze...

"So the intruders have come for us..." A shadowy figure lurking somewhere deep within the place was talking to its minions. They all listened intently for orders. "Go and get them. Make sure they don't make it to the prize." The minions all saluted and scurried away. "Nothing can stop me now! Uwee hee hee..."

White Rose ran through this strange new hall. Curtains and glowing sensations whizzed past him as he drew closer to the corner. It came within proximity, and he turned left. He headed onward through this other path until something suddenly caught him off gaurd and he skidded to a halt.

"What the-" he blurted. He looked down and noticed a huge crevass he had almost fell down. He shook his head, getting his wits back together. "Strange basement this man has." He closed his eyes, unsheathed his sword, and held it out before him...

Everywhere Xoshi ran, another intersection was there for him. First he had to choose between two different paths, then three, then four. He turned left, he turned right, he went forward, and sometimes he just stood there and thought. He was right before a three-way intersection. One way or the other...Which was it going to be? Finally, he reached his decision. He made a left turn.

This caused him to go down a new path, but they all looked exactly the same. Once a new turn came at his face, he went to the right. He kept going down until he reached another turn. Right again, he stopped dead in his tracks. This part of the maze just led to a wall.

"Shoot," Xoshi grumbled. "Wrong way." He turned around and continued trekking through the labrynth...

White Rose opened up his glowing eyes. He swung his sword forward three times, each one making it noticeably longer. SHING! SHING! SHING!! Both the sword's singing and its growth stopped. The blade had gotten a good few meters longer and was ready for action. White Rose strained his muscles to let it down slowly. Clink...clink... With the pointy end laying down on one side of the pit and the hilt laying down on the other, the knight had managed to make a makeshift bridge. He rubbed his gloved hands together and ran across it, the metal weapon making clanging sounds with each harsh step. Once that had been done, he was across and ready to continue the journey. He picked up the pointy end of his sword with both hands and gradually let it shrink back into its original size. He put it back in its scabbard and went on with the quest...

After a few more twists and turns, Xoshi was finally able to catch up with something a little more interesting than what he had previously endured. This next hall he was in was a little wider than the others. It was just as well since a batch of Crazee Dayzees were there for him. Xoshi stopped and stared at them suspiciously.

"Who...are you?" Xoshi said to them.

The Dayzee up front spoke up. "We work for the guy in charge of this basement."

Xoshi blinked at them. "Really..."

Elsewhere, White Rose was having troubles of his own. A few changes of direction later and he himself was in a vast opening. Five Crazee Dayzees were present.

"And you are?" White Rose asked.

"The one running this joint sent us," said the one in front of all the others. "We've been ordered to kill you on sight."

"Is that so?" White Rose said.

"Yes," said the one Crazee Dayzee, sternly. White Rose drew his sword once more.

"I see..."

Xoshi got into a fighting stance. "You'll...have to fight me, first," he said. His quintet of enemies all got into similar poses...

"We suspected as much," said the one White Rose was dealing with. It raised one arm into the air and swung it downward towards the man. "GET HIM!!" he yelled.

"ATTACK!!" yelled Xoshi's Crazee Dayzee. In different places, two guys commenced going at it with a five-some of walking, talking flowers...

Four of them rushed Xoshi. One leapt through the air, but Xoshi was ready. Before the little foe could land any sort of punch against the brown Yo'ster's body, Xoshi was able to lash out his tongue, whip it around the pest's torso, snatch him into his mouth, swallow him, and turn him into an egg. Xoshi readied his new projectile with one hand, closed one eye, aimed with the other, and fired. SPLAT! One unlucky Dayzee failed in his attempt to rush his enemy and instead only succeeded in getting a face full of yolk. He was knocked back and was down for the count. Three more wanted to take Xoshi on...

White Rose was having an equally easy time. The Crazee Dayzees all tried in vain to launch themselves at him, but they were no match for him and his sword. Each time they came too close, they'd get a huge gash cut into them if not an entire petal torn off. White Rose was quickly finding himself surrounded by a multitude of flower-like bodies out of commission. One remained. He had a trump card up his sleeve and White Rose was willing to let him go ahead and use it. The remaining Crazee Dayzee closed its eyes and took a deep breath...

Xoshi was ready for this next troublesome trio. The first one lunged at him but Xoshi was able to slurp him up. Within seconds, another egg had been made. Two more Crazee Dayzees were still flying towards him. He thrust the egg in the direction of the first one. SPLAT!! Yolk got all over this unfortunate opponent. The impact of the blow sent him flying backward. WHAM!! The one right behind him got nailed by his own comrade. Both enemies were sent sprawling across the floor. None were left. Xoshi had taken care of this one.

_Now to find out who's in charge,_ he thought. Xoshi ran through the maze, continuing this search...

White Rose's one Crazee Dayzee let loose his collection of air. A mysterious song escaped from his lips. As it flowed through the air and swirled its way into his ears, a strange sensation fell over the brave knight. He suddenly felt very light-headed and groggy. There was something enigmatic about this song. It was telling him to do something, and he couldn't disobey. The last thing he thought about revolved around what this could possibly be. His arms fell limp to his sides. The right one dropped his blade to the ground resulting in a clattering sound. His knees buckled beneath him. Not wanting to, he fell forward and collapsed onto the ground. Loud snoring began to escape from the swordsman. The remaining Crazee Dayzee chuckled to himself.

"Not so tough now, are ya?" he said. He slowly approached the downed man in white...

Left, right, and straight-forward Xoshi had to turn. To him, it was just more of the same with this crazy dungeon. Once he saw another three-way intersection drawing closer to him, his instincts kicked in once more and so he decided to take a right. He soon found out that this was most likely the correct move to make...

In this new hallway, he found four downed Crazee Dayzees and one suspicious one that was slowly advancing towards his fallen ally. Xoshi snapped. "Hey, you!!" he blurted to the enemy.

The one Crazee Dayzee turned around. "Ah, more of 'em, eh? This should be interesting..." The Crazee Dayzee broke into a sprint towards Xoshi. The brown Yo'ster squinted his eyes at the adversary. At the right moment, he leapt up into the air. Seeing the disappearance of his opponent made the Crazee Dayzee skid to a halt. He looked around himself to figure this out. He looked up when it was too late. WHAM!! Xoshi flattened him against the ground by pounding him right into it with his rear-end. He hopped off the pancake of a Crazee Dayzee and confirmed that this round had been dealt with.

Seeing White Rose was still a matter at hand, he approached his unconscious fellow traveler, knelt down, placed two hands against his body, and shook. "White! White! Wake up!!" Xoshi urged.

White Rose jolted and leapt away from Xoshi, looking cautious. He turned his head in this direction and the other wondering what was going on. He finally looked at Xoshi and said, "Ah, Sir Xoshi. Thank you for helping me. It seems those fiends should be watched out for once they begin singing."

Xoshi looked at him quizzically as he walked up to his sword and picked it up off the ground. "Singing?" he asked.

"Yes," White Rose said, placing the sword back in its scabbard. "These fiends have the ability to put people to sleep once they start singing. I was not careful enough and soon succumbed to that, as you can see."

Xoshi nodded. "Okay," he said.

"Right then," White Rose said. "Let's continue!"

"Right!" The duo continued moving on through the maze...

* * *

The UFO lowered a massive, metal ramp. It banged against a vast amount of ground made entirely of shiny, yellow brass. Four figures descended the ramp and found themselves amidst an entirely different place. All around them, they could see that this was a world where roads of brass weaved in and out of one another, all the while floating in the middle of something black with stars drifting across it. No... Those weren't stars. They were more like white musical notes. All four of Wart, Cutlass, Katana, and their captain were in awe of this strange place. To top it all off, it even came with hills, caves, and even plants that resembled trumpets, tubas, baritones, and trombones. They wondered what they had stumbled upon.

"There are some pretty crazy things in this universe," Katana mused.

"Indeed," Cutlass agreed.

"Let's keep moving, boys," the captain said. The others agreed to do this. They only walked forward but a few steps when suddenly it got extremely windy. Cutlass and Katana looked around suspiciously with the other two as their long, white hair was swept in this strong breeze. "What the-" the captain said, beginning to shield his eyes with his beefy hands. They looked forward and saw that all this wind was forming some mass of swirling clouds right in front of them. As the wind picked up further, the mass got tighter as well as smaller. Eventually, it not only shrank; it vanished. At last, all was revealed.

Standing where the cloud once was was a tall man in a red cloak and a white mask bearing two slanted eyeholes. In his right hand, he held a spear, and on his back were two faerie-like wings. On either side of him were two strange little creatures. They had round bodies, brown shoes, green faces, big noses, beady eyes, antennae, and pants that were striped blue and white, but had no visible mouths. The man spoke up.

"So, you're next," he said to the captain.

The big purple space alien looked perplexed. "Next for what, infidel?" he said. "What's going on here, anyway?" he growled.

"You've heard of Tondariya, true?" the man asked.

"What of it?" the captain said, folding his masculine arms.

The red-garbed man tapped his spear against the ground. "This place, and the people standing before you..." All four visitors looked at the man and his two little cronies. "...Are her wrath." The quartet of aliens all looked very confused by this. "More specifically, we are her pride. She always enjoyed seeing herself outperform the best of her adversaries, and you just happen to be four of them."

Again, the aliens looked befuddled. Katana spoke out. "What?! Us four?! But what of the others on that ship?!" He pointed to the UFO behind them.

"Warriors step forward, cowards stay behind," the man said. "Tondariya never liked cowards, and you four have stepped forward."

The captain sneered. "Yeah? So?" he questioned.

"You are here so that it can be proven, once again, that she is the best," the man explained. "You are to enter in a contest of skill. In the unlikely event that you win, you'll be able to return home and carry on with your lives. But in the inevitable event that you lose, you'll be forced to stay here for all eternity." The man tapped his spear against the ground again. "What do you say?"

For a good few moments, the four-some remained silent. During this, the captain just stood there with that dead serious look on his face. Then it slowly turned into a grin. "Have you any idea who you're talking to?" he said. The man said nothing. "You treat me as though I'm just another commoner who stumbled upon this place. Think again, tightwad." The captain unfolded his arms and placed their fists against his hips defiantly. "The name's Gonnic. Titotal Gonnic. Scourge of the galaxy, conqueror of worlds. Noone has ever stood a chance against me. Those who thought they did were the ones who fell most swiftly. To me, you're just another insect bound to fall to my greatness. I fear nothing."

The robed man stared for a while. "Tondariya liked arrogant people," he said. The captain cocked an eyebrow at him. "This should make it all the more amusing to the audience."

"What?" the muscular alien said.

"Come with me," said the man. A gigantic spiral of wind began to engulf the seven people. The four visitors were all looking confused again. The red person and his two attendants remained calm. The wind got more powerful, getting the group to see more white around them than yellow. "All will be explained..." Within seconds, the cloud of wind had completely ensnared them all. Once again, it dissipated. In its wake was only a few wisps. The seven-some had disappeared...

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, mama."

"Alright..."

Bowser and Kamek were standing in front of the two Bangarang Bros. who were still guarding the front steps to Monet's Mansion. All five of Gorroh, Helga, Arris, Doppel, and the Koopa Troopa servant were there as well. Helga bent down and gave Bowser a hug and a kiss on the snout. She rubbed the top of his head, brushing his little ponytail in the process and stood upright again.

"Now, you two be good," she insisted. "This is a very important mission, so I don't want the two of you bickering. Understood?"

"Yes, your highness," Kamek muttered.

"Don't worry, mama," Bowser reassured. "I'll keep him in line!"

Gorroh laughed. "That's my boy! Now get out there and let'em have it!!"

"Yessir, papa!" Bowser said. Kamek shook his head. He whipped out his broom, stuck it between his legs, and began hovering.

"Hop aboard, young master," he ordered. Bowser complied. He got the backseat behind Kamek, and the two of them began to fly above the paint-oriented tree-tops of the Clattagin Woods. Gorroh and Helga started waving to them. Bowser looked behind and waved back. After that, it was just those five people and the Bangarang Bros..

Doppel turned and looked at Gorroh. "That Koopaling," he said. "He's a lot like you, isn't he?"

"Yup!" Gorroh agreed, folding his arms. "Therefore, he has what it takes to be king!" Hearing this, the two of Helga and Doppel started nodding their heads. The Koopa Troopa servant only chuckled a little. Arris still had a dead serious look on his face.

"Well, enough chit-chat. Let's go in; I'm starving!!" Doppel said this while clutching at his stomach.

Gorroh nodded. "Alright. Let's go." With that, Doppel was the first to turn around and float back up the stairs. The others soon began to follow his example.

_Surely they'll succeed,_ Gorroh thought optimistically. _I hope they will. I'm dying to see what these babies Kamek was talking about look like..._

* * *

"We're here," said the man in red, letting the wisps of white smoke fade into the air.

The ride was over. Wart, Cutlass, Katana, and the captain had materialized in a very large, rather dark room of brass held up with pillars here and there. They all swore they could hear the faint sound of cheering behind the walls of this place. All throughout it were various motorcycles, all lined up. They each came in a wide variety of different shapes, sizes, colors, and designs. One particular one was at the end of one of these rows. It appeared to be made of gold. It was lined with an assortment of precious metals like silver, bronze, and platinum as well as gems like ruby, emerald, sapphire, and topaz. The four visitors noticed how, posing next to it with his arms folded, his back leaning against a pillar, and his head turned away, was a man that resembled the red-robed one that was with them, only his attire was much fancier. His robe was gold, and his mask was silver with a red ruby in the center of its forehead. His gloves were silver as well. Each finger wore a ring with a different color gem embedded into it. Beneath that robe, they could also see ruby-encrusted bracelets and the like. Like his forehead, his belt also had a ruby in its center. The rest of it had many jewels stuck in it that formed an intricate pattern. Unlike the man in red, however, his legs actually were visible, or rather their pants were. They were silver and his boots were gold with more precious gems on it here and there. He looked as though he were the wealthiest man in the universe.

The four aliens were given further instructions from their host. "This way," he said. The red-garbed man lead his four guests and his two cronies up to this fanciful one. He turned his head and looked at them.

"Who's this riff-raff?" scoffed the man in the gold robe.

"Kreezo," said the man in red to the one in gold, "meet your new competitors." He extended his left arm and used its outstretched palm to point to each of the four people individually as he stated their names. "Wart, Cutlass, Katana, and Titotal Gonnic."

"Tch. What good are they?" said the one named Kreezo. The aliens' captain frowned.

"We don't know yet for sure," said the red man. "But they would like very muchly to leave this place..."

"I see," said Kreezo.

"Quit stalling!!" the captain barked. "What do we have to do?!"

The red man turned and looked at him. "Hmmm... Yes," he hummed. He tapped his spear against the ground. "Tondariya was very talented. She had everything. Speed, strength, agility... Kreezo, here, represents her speed..." Kreezo and the captain exchanged scowls.

"So?!" said the purple man. "Get on with it!!"

"In order to leave this place," the red-robed man continued, "you four will have to enter in a race against this man." Understanding sunk into the skulls of the four. Cutlass's eyes widened. "The rules are simple," said the man in red. "Each of you will get a bike. Together, you'll race against Kreezo. You'll do this in the race-track out there." The man tilted his head to his right where the cheering could still be heard. "Make it to the finish line before him, and you will win. That's easier said than done." He tapped his spear against the ground again. "The track is riddled with obstacles. Don't bother trying to avoid them; you won't be able to anyway. You can only imagine how many different ways there are to lose..."

"Stop being so cocky," growled the captain. "I told you, I fear nothing!!"

The man gave a quick laugh. "Let me finish." The captain folded his arms again and resumed grimacing. "You will trip over wires. You will get lost in smoke. Your faces will be smashed in." Three of the visitors scowled a bit at this remark. Only Cutlass still remained calm. "Although it is futile, I shall tell you anyway: be careful." The captain rolled his eyes. "Now," said the man in red, "choose your motorcycle..."

The visitors started looking about the room with interested looks on their faces. They left from where they were standing in search of what vehicles would strike their fancy. Within a few moments, it had been done. In due time, the four were standing in front of the red man again. Wart had a green bike, Cutlass had a silver one, Katana had a white one, and the captain had a purple one. Once that was said and done, the red man could continue.

"Very good," he said. "Are you all prepared?" The quartet grinned and nodded. "Very good," the man repeated. "Now you're all going to go out there and race." His four guests looked ready as ever. However, he had something else to say. "Oh, but one more thing." The attention of the four was stolen once again. "If fewer than four of you are able to beat Kreezo, here," he gestured to the golden man with his left hand, "then you may not get exactly what you want at the end of the race. Just a word of caution." The aliens started frowning and speculating. "Oh, and let's not forget," he added, "while driving out there, be careful not to fall of the edge. There's no telling what'll happen or where you'll end up. Understood?"

"Yes, yes. Let's get on with it, already!!" said the captain impatiently.

"Very well..." After that, five contestants had taken their motorcycles and had begun strolling with them after the man in red with his two cronies. He led them down a hall and finally to an archway leading outside. The closer they got, the louder the noise got. At last, they found out the source of this noise was indeed a crowd. The group of eight was standing on a brass road that extended for miles. In the distance, it turned and twisted in every way imagineable. At the start of it was a long bar painted with checkers of black and white lying flat against the ground. This was all between two gigantic sets of bleachers, both of which were occupied by thousands of litle creatures very much like the ones that the man in red was accompanied by. They were all very excited. All of this was floating in the strange sky of Tondariya's wrath. "Places, everyone," said the man in red.

Wart, Katana, Cutlass, the captain, and Kreezo were lined up in front of the starting point. Each of them were getting their motorcycles up and ready to go. While waiting for the official start of this, Cutlass turned to his right and looked at his superior, smirking confidently. "Captain?" he said. His boss looked at him. "Don't worry. Where I'm from, there's no better motorcyclist than me."

The captain scoffed. "You'd better be," he said. The two looked away and awaited further instructions.

Suddenly, everyone could hear a loud voice rumbling throughout the place. "Ladies and Melon Bugs," it said. The audience began to quiet down and the five racers were beginning to listen more intently. "Today, to prove once again that Tondariya is the best, we have four new visitors here to challenge the unbeatable Kreezo..." The audience cheered at the sound of the golden man's name. The cocky racer extended his left arm and waved to them, nodding all the while. His four comptetitors scowled at him disapprovingly. The announcer continued. "Coming from parts unknown, we have with us today, Wart..." Everyone booed at the big frog. Wart scowled and held tighter to the handlebars of his vehicle. "Katana..." The long-haired, man of silver got booed as well. Katana just scoffed and shook his head. "Cutlass..." Cutlass suffered the same fate. He rolled his eyes. "And Titotal Gonnic..." Even the captain was booed. His eyes squinted as his brow furled even further, making his grimace even worse. "Let us see the great Kreezo defeat them and prove the mighty Tondariya cannot be topped." Finally, the audience started cheering again.

The four aliens were anxious. The crowd was still going wild, but not much else was happening. Then the two creatures that were beside the red man earlier walked up, made their ways past the starting line, and turned and faced the five motorcyclists. They were all pretty expectant. Anticipatingly, they waited. Then finally, the two curled up into little balls striped blue and white, made loud bouncing noises, and simultaneously launched themselves sky-high. The instant this happened, all five bikers were off in a flash and the crowd had gone nuts. The race to either prove or disprove Tondariya's strength had begun...

* * *

"Sir!" said a Crazee Dayzee to his shadowy figure of a boss. "The intruders will be here any minute!"

"Have they, now? Uwee hee hee... Let them come. This should be good for a couple of laughs..."

"Yes, sir!"

Xoshi and White Rose turned to the left and headed down the next hallway. Up ahead, they could see a light at 2:00. "Almost there," said White Rose. Within moments, that very entrance was right before them. They entered and all was revealed.

"So, you guys thought you could put a stop to my operation, eh?" said the one sitting in the throne at the end of this big room. One Crazee Dayzee was standing in front of him a little and two others were by his side. What was different about those two, though, was how their bodies were completely of a bright, shiny yellow that sparkled and glittered fabulously. All four of them were carefully watching the two intruders. "Well, you can't do that," said their leader. He was the most different-looking member of the group. He was an oversized creature hiding beneath a big green sheet with a quasi-spooky face on the front. Two shoes could be seen dangling off the throne beneath the sheet. One wrapped-up arm was on the left armrest while the other was holding up what looked like a big watering can. Something seemed oddly familiar about this guy.

"Are you...the Plantern Ghost?" Xoshi said.

"Uwee hee hee," chuckled the green-garbed leader. "Yes, that is me. And these are my children!" The Plantern Ghost was referring to the Crazee Dayzees within the vicinity. They all smirked mischievously at the two intruders. "Like them?" the Plantern Ghost asked. "It just goes to show where plenty of love and good nutrition can take you," he said, dangling his watering can, letting the liquid splash inside of it.

"You're the one haunting this basement," White Rose accused. The mysterious knight started fondling the hilt of his sword. "Just what are you up to?" he demanded.

"We were just looking for a good hideout," replied the leader. "Is it our fault people make such a big deal out of this?"

"What for?" White Rose said.

"My children don't just pop out of the ground, you know," the ghost replied. "They need virgin sacrifices."

The Plantern Ghost tilted his watering can forward and poured out some of its contents onto the ground. Both Xoshi and White Rose were in utter shock at the sight of what it was. His watering can was filled to the brim with blood. The thick, red substance sloshed into a murky puddle on the ground. The two intruders watched in horror and disgust. At first, nothing happened. Then the fluid began to bubble as though the ground beneath it was beginning to heat up. The stuff bubbled and boiled and rose a column of steam into the air. Then something began to take shape beneath the bubbling. It rose out of the red gunk as though it were a trapdoor. This something turned out to be another Amazee Dayzee like the ones by the Plantern Ghost's sides, but it sparkled red instead of yellow. The remaining blood by its feet evaporated and its eyes remained closed. At last, they flew open. The two of them seemed to be made out of fire. Xoshi and White Rose were in awe.

"Meet the latest addition to the family," bragged the Plantern Ghost. "I call him...Blazee Dayzee. Something like this can only be achieved if you have a green thumb...like me." The ghost lifted up his left arm and gave the two adventururs the thumbs-up. He got some weird looks in return. "Quick, strong, agile... This work of art has everything you could ever ask for. His powers allow him to burn up most anything. He's one little flower you won't want to mess with. All that, and he can reproduce asexually, too. Uwee hee hee." Xoshi and White Rose got a good look at Blazee Dayzee's overconfident, smirking face. They could tell it was going to be quite the opponent. "Yes, gentlemen, with a couple drops of blood (including my own), this is what can be done. You could say he's proof the worthless fungus of this town is good for something afterall..."

Xoshi clenched his fists in fury. "Why...you..." he growled.

"And that's just with a guard or two..." It suddenly dawned on the two intruders that the very person that had warned them of this very creature was no longer alive. This got them all the more infuriated. "Imagine," continued the ghost, "what I could do with a Shaman..." The Plantern Ghost raised his left hand again and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the ceiling of the corner of the room to his right formed a rectangular opening. This opening lowered a big cage hanging from a few chains. Inside this cage was an unconscious person lying down. It was a Shaman much like Merlon, but far more feminine. Hanging out of either side of her hood were two long locks of blonde hair that coiled into two little swirls at the bottom. A lock sticking out of her forehead did something fairly similar. No doubt this was Merlon's niece.

"You'll do no such thing," White Rose threatened, pulling his sword completely out of its scabbard this time.

"Think you can stop me?" the Plantern Ghost taunted. "I said that you wouldn't..." The ghost raised his left arm and swung it pointing forward. "GET THEM!!" The four flowers in the room lunged for the duo of intruders. Three of them went for the swordsman leaving Xoshi to be the lucky one having to deal with the powerful, red one. Within seconds, the fight had begun...

Out of the three, the less sparkly Crazee Dayzee of the trio was the first to try tackling White Rose. Showing no mercy, the knight thrust his sword out. SHUNK! The foolish flower had run right into it. Now he had a bloody sword going through his torso and his back and a dead look in his eyes. The brave swordsman flung the messy corpse off his sword, letting it splatter against the floor. He glared at the two yellow Amazee Dayzees and got into yet another big fight...

Xoshi made the first move. He shot his long, stretchy tongue out at Blazee Dayzee, but soon came to regret it. TSSS! The instant the tip of his tongue hit the surface of that thing's face, it shot right back into his mouth. Xoshi let the tip dangle out of his mouth as he tried flapping his hands in front of it to cool it down. With his opponent distracted, the Blazee Dayzee held out one hand and started making a ball of fire form in it. Once it was nice and big, he chucked it at the preoccupied Xoshi. It nailed him in the gut. FWOOSH! Xoshi immediately put his hands down and dropped onto the ground, rolling around like mad, desperately trying to get the fire out. Once the flames had been reduced to a black scorch mark on him, Xoshi got back up and stared at the smirking Blazee Dayzee. He knew this wasn't going to be easy...

The two Amazee Dayzees started speeding towards White Rose. He bent down and swung his sword horizontally to rend them both asunder, but it wasn't enough. The clever little creatures leapt over his assault and flew right over his head. To keep track of them, he quickly spun around, but that wasn't enough either. One of them suddenly shot up and punched his right hand straight from the bottom causing his sword to fly out and clatter to the floor beneath the suspended cage. White Rose immediately turned around, jumped forward, and landed on his side so he could roll towards his weapon and pick it back up. He extended his right hand for its hilt, but SLAM! His hand suddenly got pinned to the ground by one of the Amazee Dayzees. He glared up at its smirking face. In the next instant, the sword was being held high aboave the flower's head with both arms in triumph. He jumped off of the knight's injured hand and sped towards its comrade which had an equally mischievous look on its face. White Rose jumped up from the floor, turned around, and saw this. The Amazee Dayzee to the left of the one with the blade took a deep breath...

Xoshi stared down Blazee Dayzee. His fiery opponent held out both hands and started making fireballs appear in both. Xoshi's eyes widened at the sight. The Blazee Dayzee arched his eyebrows at the brown Yo'ster and began his assault. Xoshi commenced doing a dance in a desperate attempt at dodging each of those fireballs. Left, right, left, right, left, right... FWOOSH! Xoshi was incinerated with one in his right shoulder. He jumped back, knelt down, and clutched at his wound, letting loose a low moan. He glared at his enemy. He was getting another sphere of incineration ready. Xoshi had yet to react...

_Xoshi..._

_Yes??_

_My powers..._

Xoshi hesitated. _Alright..._ While the fireball was busy whirling its way into its ideal size, Xoshi was busy making a certain sign with his arms and his hands. His brown eyelids closed dreamily...

White Rose only got to hear the first three notes of the mysterious song. _No,_ he thought. _I won't fall for the same trick twice..._ White Rose's hands flew up to the sides of his head and he slapped his ears shut. His eyes could make out that one of his opponents was still singing, but did so with his eyes closed. The other flower had an annoyed look on his face. His partner's song wasn't working and he was unaware of it. With his hands still clasped against his ears, the knight rushed the one with the sword. That particular Amazee Dayzee wasn't a lucky one. BAM!! The swordmsan kicked the unfortunate flower in the nuts, forcing him to release the sword and send his hands immediately to his private area. What's more is that in the process, the sword he was holding fell from the air and conked him on the head. It clattered to the ground as he fell unconscious. At this point, the other Amazee Dayzee's eyes were finally opened and his lips were no longer moving. White Rose caught on to this cue, took his hands away from his ears, and hastily picked up his sword. One more opponent remained...

The Blazee Dayzee's fireball was big and ready, but he couldn't help but notice that Xoshi's eyes were still closed. It looked at him questioningly. Xoshi remained still. Finally, his brown eyelids flew up. They revealed two glowing pupils, both of them a storm of colors. The Blazee Dayzee arched an eyebrow at him. Then the brown Yo'ster thrust his hands out. The Blazee Dayzee caught on and flew his own hands out as well. The two opponents had their palms facing eachother and were letting out rather poignant waves of their own powers. As a result, two tsunamis of pure destruction were colliding with eachother in midair, trying to out-push one another, but they seemed to be evenly matched. One of them was golden, shiny, sparkly, and filled with star shapes. The other was orange, bright, wavy, and loaded with streams of flaming fury. The two forces struggled to triumph over their opponents and knock them into the next century, but it was still even. Seeing this wasn't enough, the Blazee Flexed his muscles and started sending forth even more fire than before. This seemed to work. It was pushing back Xoshi's stars! Seeing that a tidal wave of burning was headed his way, Xoshi began to feel cold drops of sweat going down his face.

_Xoshi,_ Beel said, _are you really going to let this imbecile beat you?_

Xoshi scrunched his eyebrows down in anger. _NO!!_ That was when Xoshi conjured up some reserves of his own and the tables had turned. At that moment, it was the Blazee Dayzee's surge of power that was being pushed back, but at an even faster rate than what had happened before. In alarm, its eyes widened. Immediately afterwards, it clenched them shut. FWWOOOSSHH!! An explosion of stars had pierced right through its wall of flames, causing them to dissipate into wisps of embers and plow right into the fiendish flower. The Blazee Dayzee, covered in bruises ,was knocked back and was sent skidding across the floor with its eyes still shut in infuriation. Once its head hit the wall between the cage and the throne, it stopped skidding. It opened one eye. It saw Xoshi pumping an arm in victory, and growled...

White Rose saw the whole thing. _Hmm..._ he thought. _I never would have imagined Xoshi to have such power..._ His gaze went from Xoshi's pleased face to the Blazee Dayzee's scowl. _But that strange creature's fire was also quite impressive._ Then he looked at his yellow opponent and his eyes went wide. _Wait...Fire!_ The swordsman sheathed his sword and pulled out the wand he got from the Star Spirits. Once again, he could feel an invigorating sensation of holy energy spiraling throughout his body. _I hope this works..._ The Amazee Dayzee saw the sudden appearance of this new weapon and looked quizzically at it. It started grimacing again and began another assault. It ran towards White Rose while he was still staring at his wand. WHAM! The Amazee Dayzee leapt into the air and tackled White Rose in the waist. Both fighters came crashing down to the floor. In the process, White Rose's wand fell from his hands and clammered to the ground as well, rolling away from his grasp. He couldn't feel its strange energy anymore at that point. Soon, the two opponents were rolling around, seizing eachother's wrists, punching eachother in the face, and blocking eachother's attacks. At some point, the Amazee Dayzee was on top of its opponents chest and had White Rose pinned to the ground. The knight had the flower's right wrist in the clutches of his left hand, but that left hand was something to look out for. Without warning, the Amazee Dayzee plunged downward with that very hand and unsheathed the swordman's trademark weapon. It raised his sword up into the air and struck. SHUNK!! The flower struck the floor, wedging the weapon firmly into it. The knight had rolled to his right out of the way and had finally gotten the pesky flower off his chest. It fell to the floor but still had its hand firmly latched onto the sword's handle. It saw the knight jump up, land on his side, and roll like the time he tried grabbing his sword. This time, the maneuver proved successful. The wand was back in White Rose's right hand and he could feel its energy again. Similary, the sword was back in the Amazee Dayzee's right hand. The white-garbed swordsman got into a stance with his new magical weapon and let his opponent make another run towards him, sword swinging and all. Once the flower was close enough, White Rose brought up his left knee and punted his sword right out of his enemy's hand. The flower became confused as the blade once again went flying across the room. Taking advantage of its distraction, White Rose punched the fiend hard in the face with his left fist. This sent the flower skidding across the floor. White Rose ran up to it and stomped hard down onto its chest, pinning it to the ground. He pointed his wand at his scowling mug and started feeling himself clasping onto this energy flowing through him. _DIE!!_ White Rose had squeezed the holy energy out of his body, sent it squirming through his hands, through his fingers, and finally his wand. The magical item's ruby-red jewel glowed brightly and the Amazee Dayzee's face suddenly took on a look of pure terror. It knew this was it. FFWWOOOOSHHH!! A column of pure, raging flames spilled out of the jewel and collided into the flower's face. White Rose's eyes squinted at the brightness of his attack. He held on tightly to his wand and continued forcing energy out of it. Gradually, the hands of his opponent, lying on the ground, began to squirm less and less. Once their trembling had stopped and once they had fallen limp, White Rose cut off the power. He pulled the wand away and noticed that his enemy's head had been completely replaced by a smoking crater. White Rose removed his foot from the Amazee Dayzee's glittering body, stood back, and stared at his ruby-bearing wand in awe. He couldn't believe what he had done with it.

The Plantern Ghost watched this in great dissatisfaction. "You monster..." he growled...

Xoshi was still looking pleased by his moves. This wasn't smart. HISSS!! Xoshi found himself clutching at his left shoulder in agony. He angrily looked forward and saw that his opponent was back up and readying another fireball. To retaliate, Xoshi closed his eyes and crossed his arms once more, making that stance again. He thought about constellations, meteors, supernovas, and the like. Once he could feel the preparations were complete, he opened up his glowing eyes once more and started his rebuttal. This time, the two opponents started firing at eachother as though they were wielding a pair of gatling guns. They circled eachother around the room, trying as much as possible to dodge, flip, and roll in order to not get hit by eachother's attacks. WHAM! A big glowing star shot the Blazee Dayzee in his left shoulder. Xoshi looked cocky. FWOOSH! Xoshi's chest got hit by a fireball. He was angry again. He started running towards the fiery fiend and he jumped up into the air. His enemy was below him readying another fireball. Xoshi's palms were beginning to sparkle in opposition. Xoshi crash-landed his feet against the flower's chest and the two went sprawling, sending sparks of fire and star flopping around in the process. The two were rolling around, trying to overpower eachother. Once the two were back on their feet, Xoshi swung his tail out and tripped the Blazee Dayzee. The red being was tossed into the air and was ready for the final blow. Xoshi aimed, concentrated, and fired. BLLAMMM!! Xoshi blasted out a huge, glittering star at the Blazee Dayzee. It collided with his body and he went soaring through the air. He crashed through the wall where he was lying earlier, leaving a star-shaped hole. At that, the Blazee Dayzee had disappeared...

Xoshi looked triumphant again. Then he turned and saw the Plantern Ghost raise his left arm and snap his fingers again. As a result, the two rectangles of metal holding the cage's bars together that sandwiched Merlinda were beginning to close in on her. "NOW, WHITE!!" Xoshi yelled. The brave knight caught on. He spun around, grasped tightly onto his wand, and concentrated. The still unconscious Merlinda was losing more and more breathing space with each passing second. At last, White Rose was ready. He pointed the wand at the Plantern Ghost and started squeezing out that energy.

"NO!!" screamed the ghost. "YOU GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!" The ruby of the wand began to glow. "NO!" A hurricane of fire spilled forth from that jewel. "NOOOO!!!" the Plantern Ghost wailed as the flames engulfed him. "AAAUUURRRRGGHHH!!!" The Plantern Ghost had been replaced by an oversized mass of screaming fire. White Rose persisted in maintaining the assault. Sweat formed on his brow as he saw that two slabs of metal were getting rather tight against Merlinda, already beginning to squeeze the girl to death. "AAAUURRggghhh..." White Rose heard the wailing die down. At the same time, the pressing was beginning to hinder. He turned off the wand, and saw what he had done. All that was sitting in the throne was a bunch of flaking, pitch-black debris. A scorched and blackened watering can fell from the air and clattered onto the ground. Xoshi and White Rose watched with dead serious, unblinking stares. They heard the sound of metal groaning, and looked at the cage. The squeezing had stopped, but Merlinda was suffocating between two impenetrable walls as she was trapped.

"What now?" asked Xoshi. Just then, the cage became a ghost. Its transparency was beginning to make it disappear into thin air. Once it was completely invisible, Merlinda's body could bounce back into shape from being pressed. Then she fell from midair. "ACK!!" Xoshi screeched. He ran forward and caught the girl with his saddle. She was still unconscious but was in significantly less peril. Xoshi breathed a sigh of relief. "Well," he said, looking at White Rose, "we did it. The basement's okay... The Plantern Ghost's gone... Merlinda's alright..."

White Rose nodded. He then held up the wand he had used to defeat the Plantern Ghost once and for all. "Not only that," he said, "but I'm beginning to feel some strange connection between me and this wand..."

"Well," Xoshi said, wiping sparkly, starry dust off his hands, "it looks...like we both learned something today."

"Indeed," said the knight. He marveled at the wand some more and put it away. He truly had felt as though something had come between him and that wand. It was like it had become a new body part. With that in mind, he got the feeling that making seven kings with these wands was probably not going to be as hard as they thought...

ONE DOWN  
SIX TO GO

"Alright," said the swordsman. "Let's go report this to the old man."

"Right!" Xoshi replied. With Merlinda on their hands and a new amount of bravery coursing through them, the two adventurers left the throne room and commenced journeying through the maze once more...

* * *

The five racers sped down a shiny road of brass. They continued down it even when it started sloping upwards. After that, it started twisting and turning. All five of them had to be as careful as possible when going left and right lest they wanted to find out what happened if they were to fall off into that abyss. The quintet had managed to do this well enough. They were all still intact. Kreezo glanced behind them and acknowledged their skill.

_Good,_ he thought. _But let's see how well you'll do against this..._

* * *

Meanwhile, the two of Naji and the giant version of Cutlass were standing in the middle of yet another dream world. This time, it was a gigantic, glowing teal hexagon floating in the middle of pitch-black with various wraiths floating up into the air in the background. The two fighters stared eachother down. Then Cutlass raised his arms in front of them, flexed them until they started trembling while Naji was busy getting into a stance of his own. Cutlass made a grey explosion symbol appear and Naji made a light blue snowflake appear. At the same time, a fierce gale was piercing through the air headed in Cutlass's direction and an avalanche of swords started to fall from the sky, landing in different places throughout the battlefield. In order to protect himself from Naji's blizzard, Cutlass had to send his gigantic arms up and defend himself. Surprisingly, it took more than this. Shards of razor-sharp ice started hacking into the dreaded man's skin, letting a thick, purple ooze start to seep out. Cutlass looked at this in shock, and then at Naji only to be shocked even more. Any sword that dared to fall in his direction was flung off by a circular barrier surrounding the purple Yo'ster. Cutlass scowled and his level of arrogance had been taken down a peg while that of his respect for his enemy had gone up. Once both storms of swords and ice had cleared up, the two fighters glared at eachother. They got into more stances and dragged the battle further...

* * *

Wart, Katana, Kreezo, the real Cutlass, and the captain were still racing. While driving across a higher level of brass road, the five of them eventually began to start drawing closer to a pit full of brass spikes. Being the one taking the lead, Kreezo was the first to hit the gas, accelerate across the ramp and go flying over the spike-filled pit. His four competitors saw this and prepared for what was coming.

_THIS ISN'T FOR ME,_ Wart thought, defeated. _I'LL LET MY COMRADES TAKE IT FROM HERE._ With that, Wart suddenly turned his bike to the side, hit the breaks, and skidded to a screeching halt. The captain looked behind him and saw his chief commander's surrendering move. He saw his salute, turned around and continued speeding up the ramp. Cutlass was the first of the three remaining aliens to make this huge leap. He and his bike went soaring through the air. After a while, his leap had reached the peak of its arch and began its descent. He kept his eyes on where the pit ended and where the road began again. He kept a firm grip on his vehicle and prepared for impact. His efforts were not in vain. He hit the road right where he wanted and continued the chase. Right behind him were Katana and the captain. The three of them were together again, but Kreezo was still far beyond their grasp. They resumed their racing.

After that was more quickly-paced rides down long roads, as well as more turning left and right. Some parts dipped into lower elevations, and some went even higher up. What they didn't know was that this was all merely a warm-up. At some point, in the distance, they saw the amazing Kreezo drive down what appeared to be yet another slope. His three pursuers continued their chase, not knowing what was really headed their way. Then they started descending as well and were all very surprised. They all had to maintain a constant left turn as much as possible because they had just began driving down an insane spiral of brass. Kreezo was already at the middle of it. Cutlass was the first to take it on, followed by Katana and the captain. This wasn't quite like anything Cutlass had experienced before, but he was still handling it quite well. He was beginning to get sick from the constant spinning but had to maintain his composure. Katana was another story, however. He was noticeably turning green rather than silver.

_Ugh..._ he thought weakly. _I'm past my limits..._ Katana suddenly lost control of his vehicle and went spirling out of control. He spilled out of it, went sprawling across the slanted brass road and fell down the abyss. Cutlass watched this in shock, especially since he was past Kreezo at this point. Luckily, he landed in a heap right where the road was flat again at the bottom of the spiral. Unfortunately, Kreezo was just behind him. Starting to leak a thick, silver liquid, Katana wearily looked behind himself and saw what was coming. He prepared himself for the upcoming demolition. VVRRROOOOMMM!! Kreezo accelerated and drove so fast, he soared right over Katana's head. Katana dropped his head in defeat and relief. Moments afterwards, Cutlass drove right past his head. After that, the captain drove right past his legs. _Do it, you guys..._

* * *

Naji charged up some power while Cutlass raised a brutal arm up into the air. Naji was just about ready to unleash his attack when suddenly he saw something in the distance past all those ghoulish figures floating around flying towards Cutlass's upraised hand. Once it came into focus, it turned out to be a really big sword. It flipped around through the air and Cutlass caught it, wrapping his masculine fingers around its hilt. Conjuring a fomidable amount of strength, he swung it forward and sent it crashing down onto the hexagon. Naji leapt up just in time, letting rippling shockwaves pass beneath him. While in the air, Naji made a yellow lighnting bolt symbol appear and the clap of thunder could be heard. RRUUMMBBBLLEE... While Naji was fluttering to the ground, Cutlass was struggling to lift his massive sword out of the ground. He brought it up with both hands when he looked up. In a flash, a tremendous lightning bolt shot through the sky and plummetted right into his sword's tip. BBZZZZZTTT!!! The tall man of silver skin and purple scales was electrocuted beyond redemption. Afterwards, his body was steaming, his hair was frizzy, and his face was angered. He saw Naji standing by, readying another spell. This time, Cutlass wouldn't let it happen. He swung his sword into a different position and started preparing an incantation of his own...

* * *

The real Cutlass and the captain drove down this new flat road and soon found themselves going down another slope. This one twisted to the side a bit, so they found they had to maintain a constant right turn this time. The road swooped downward and they had to make a left turn again. Next, the road was sloping into the entrance to a huge forest of trumpets. Kreezo had already disappeared into that purgatory. It was their turn next.

Upon going into that entrance, everything became much darker, save for a few spots of light bouncing off of the trumpets' surfaces. They drove to the fullest extent of their carefulness through this perilous place. Turning here and there, they drove through the crazy vicinity. Then it happened. Rolled-up Melon Bugs started firing themselves out of some of the holes of these trumpets at the two racers like a bunch of cannonballs. Cutlass and the captain took their maneuvers up the next level. Instead of just turning and driving very quickly, they also had to swerve in various directions and even duck their heads just to avoid these things.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two racers were finally out of that mess, but only just to get into another. Letting their driving continue a little further, they soon came across yet another road stuck between two rows of countless tall trumpets. Their holes made more moves. Instead of Melon Bugs, though, these started spewing impenetrable fogs. Cutlass started squinting, trying everything within his power to see this through. Then, of all things to worsen the situation, more Melon Bugs started popping out of nowhere trying to take the motorcycling aliens. Dodging these and maneuvering around them was even more difficult for Cutlass with the mist in the way, but he kept driving. Then he heard a scream.

"AAUURRRGGHHH!!!" That was definitely the deep-pitched voice of his captain. He heard some skidding and he knew that he was the only one left.

_Alright, Cutlass,_ the silver man thought to himself, _now we show that infidel who's truly superior..._

* * *

Naji made the symbol of a silver hourglass show up. He swung his palms forward and fired a black ball of purple electricity coursing towards his opponent. It soared through the air and vanished. CHINK! A giant sword had pierced right through it, turning it into a bunch of little, purple lightning bolts disappearing into the air. The blade that did this was not the one that Cutlass was holding. It was one of many gigantic ones that were flying from the distance behind him, slicing through the ghosts and headin for the Yoshi, but avoiding their master. Naji suddenly found himself jumping, twisting, dodging, rolling, and sliding. He severely wished not to find out what it'd be like getting stabbed by one of those things. He quickly glanced up and saw overconfidence returning to Cutlass's spiteful mug. Naji glowered and continued avoiding the weapons. He had to figure out how to retaliate against this and fast...

* * *

In the real world, Cutlass had different matters to attend to. After a while, he was finally out of the mist and back to concentrating on getting out of that forest. Kreezo was a little ahead of him. He could tell a slope was ahead of him, but didn't understand why he had to jump it. Cutlass figured it was just a shtick of his. Cutlass drove on until he reached the beginning of that slope. "AHH!!" he yelled. He suddenly switched tactics and made an awkward leap over the slope. He found out that a wire connected by the insides of two holes would have tripped him otherwise.

_A tricky place, this is,_ he mused. He suddenly ducked his head, jumped, turned the motorcylce on its side in midair, and rotated it a good 270 degrees while still flying. He finally landed right-side-up and sped off. Had he not have done that, a huge web of wires would have either cleaved his head off, tripped him, cleaved some more body parts off, or all of the above. Cutlass scowled reflecting on this.

He kept driving until he finally made it out of that insane collection of trumpets. He was back on the road again and continued driving as fast as possible. Kreezo was a ways ahead of him, but he had plans of changing that. He hit the accelerator and worked on getting past that guy. Kreezo glanced behind himself.

_This guy's good,_ he thought. _Noone's ever made it this far..._ He suddenly started going faster as well. _And I intend to keep it that way..._

Cutlass could see his prey was getting away. He started speeding up as well. The two racers sped further down this crazy highway. Cutlass could see that in the distance, they were drawing closer to a blindingly bright light. The road seemed to be leading towards that very point. Cutlass wondered what its deal was while maintaining his speed against his opponent. After a long period of trying to outdo eachother, this bright light was finally getting noticeably closer. Kreezo was the first to disappear into it. When it was Cutlass's turn, he was completely lost. Nothing in his past could prepare him for this. He tried squinting, tried feeling the vibrations of his motorcycle, tried feeling the air around him, but nothing gave him a hint of what was going on.

_So long, sucker,_ Kreezo thought...

* * *

The flying swords were beginning to decrease in number. Naji began some more concentrating so he could show this freak who was boss. Before he was finished, though, Cutlass had jumped up into the air and landed down hard into the ground, sending more shockwaves in the Yo'ster's direction. This time, Naji couldn't dodge it. He tripped over the waves and was sent tumbling backwards with power stuck in his hands in mid-concentration. Not wanting to fall off the hexagon, he grabbed a hold of the edge and held on tightly, struggling to get himself back up. The menacing Cutlass took big, lumbering strides towards the unfortunate Naji causing small tremors with each step. Once he was close enough, he knelt down and stared the helpless Naji in the eye.

"How does it feel, Naji?" he asked. "How does it feel to come all this way, to lose everyone important to you, and to tire yourself out just to die?" Naji's eyes were scrunched up in frustration and fury. He struggled further to get his arms back onto the platform. "It must be disappointing. It must be depressing." He leaned closer to his struggling opponent, grinning. "It must fill you with a rage like no other." Naji began straining with all his might to hold on with just one arm so he could build up some energy in the other. "This is your last chance, Naji," Cutlass said. "Join us." The white-haired giant reached forward and grabbed Naji's right arm, lifting him up into the air, starting to stand up straight again. "Join us...or die..." Cutlass said this holding Naji over the bottomless pit. It was then the overgrown swordsman caught a glimpse of something shining in Naji's free hand. He eyed it questioningly but did nothing to prepare himself for what came next. FFWWOOOOSSHHH!! His face was suddenly being torn up by a cyclone of thrashing wind. "AARRRGGGHHHH!!!" Cutlass screamed. He dropped Naji so he clutch at his face in agony. Naji nearly fell into the abyss, but he quickly flutter-kicked his way back above the platform and landed. While his enemy was still distracted, he readied another spell. He made a green leaf symbol appear and he fired a furious storm of poisonous needles at the man. Each one stuck somewhere in his flesh, beginning to inject its stinging venom into his system. A grey explosion symbol was next. Naji got closer to the staggering giant and thrust his palms outward once he was close enough. This time, he slammed the monstrous Cutlass with a maelstrom of pure, incinerating, white energy. It pierced through the air and hacked right through Cutlass's demonic legs. "RRRAAAUUUGGHHH!!!" the man screamed. Naji maintained the devastating spell. When it was over, he let his arms down. Cutlass was still there, but his legs had been completely blown off. Before the rest of body could collapse to the ground, Naji did one other thing. He made a white sun symbol appear and he fired a humungous, soul-shattering, red laserbeam at the man. It tore right through his skull and blasted his brains out, knocking him back and tumbling over the edge of the hexagon in the process. Naji ran up to where his enemy had disappeared. "AAAAUUUUgggghhh..."

Naji stared down the pit in pure hatred. He gurgled up a wad of phlegm in his mouth and spat it out, aiming for where Cutlass was last. He sneered some more. "And stay down there," he growled. He stepped back and knelt down, breathing heavily. Sweat was flinging off of him, and thoughts were plowing through his mind. After a while, he looked up into the darkness. "Well, father," he said to the nothingness, "it's finished. The one called Cutlass is finally gone." He let out an exhausted sigh. "I guess I can go now..."

At that, the ghosts floating up into the air suddenly began to slow to halt. Everything around him began to turn black and white like an old movie. Then it all began to disintegrate. He looked around himself in confusion and wonder. He then looked at his hands and found out that they, too were turning to dust. He dropped his arms and gracefully accepted that existence was being erased...

* * *

WHHAMM!!! Something hard and heavy hit the real Cutlass from behind him in the head. He could feel his silvery juice spilling out from its deadly wound. "AARRGGGHHH!!!" he screamed. He let one hand go so he could clutch at his injury, but this was a massive mistake. The bike suddenly became unstable. It tripped over something and both he and the bike went flying. The two of them came crashing down onto the road and went tumbling for a little while. The searing pain in the back of Cutlass's head combined with the infinitely bright light and the utter confusion of it all was too much for Cutlass. At some point, he was finally flung from his seat. He was sent sprawling across the road while losing consciousness. The edge came close and he didn't even know it. Unable to help himself, he skidded right off it and started plummeting into that forbidden void. The light was beginning to diminish, although he couldn't tell if that was because it was getting further away or what. Nothing seemed to matter anymore to him at that point. He had lost the race and was most likely about to suffer a fate worse than his comrades had. Upon falling and losing consciousness, he suddenly felt as though he had just crashed straight through a giant panel of glass. KISSHHHH!!! Fragments of various shattered images tinkled past his eyes. He could make sense of very few of them. He saw a world filled with purple clouds, a crowd of kids scowling at him, a motorcycle, and a younger version of himself stabbing a man in the gut. He saw a silver hand shaking a purple one, a spaceship, and a Yoshi wearing sunglasses. All of these things no longer meant anything for him anymore. Everything became pitch-black and that was it. A portal much like the one that had brought him and the others to this freaky world in the first place suddenly opened up beneath him and sucked him in. Wart had quit the race early on, Katana and the captain had both been badly injured, and Cutlass had disappeared from it for good. Who knew what was in store for him...

_Fools,_ Kreezo thought, as he exited the bright light and neared the finish line. _That's what you get for trying..._ He crossed the finish line and the audience began cheering. Confetti and balloons fell out of nowhere and started showering the golden man. He waved to all the patrons and blew them kisses. Then the unseen announcer got to work again.

"Ladies and Melon Bugs," it said, "the unbeatable Kreezo has done it again. Tondariya is still number one!" The audience cheered some more at the sound of this. The race had officially come to an end...

* * *

Naji was out of his mind and back in his body. His eyes opened up and he could see through a green liquid that he was stuck behind a tube. All around him were various other creatures that had suffered this fate. Knowing exactly what to do, he conjured up a grey explosion symbol, tightened a fist, and threw a palm out. CCRRAAASSHHH!! The tube burst open and the liquid spilled out. Summoning even more of his strength, the purple Yoshi tore himself from the tubes attached to his body and flutter-kicked out of the strange prison. He landed onto the wet floor. He shut his eyes, shook off the green droplets still on him, and stretched his limbs. It was good to be a real person again. He looked around himself and started planning his escape route. Naji ran off beginning the next phase of his quest against these aliens...

* * *

Elsewhere, the man in red was busy looking over the spaceship that the aliens had come in. "Too bad," he said. "Looks like they won't be needing this anymore..." He suddenly made white wind start to surround both him and the spaceship. The wind got stronger and stronger, gradually making the two beings more and more obscured by this tornado. "I'll just add it to the others..." In a flash, the tornado was gone, and the brass field was completely empty...

* * *

Bowser and Kamek were flying high over the morning sea. Their destination wasn't as close as they'd have liked it to be yet, so Bowser struck up a conversation. "Hey, Kamek," he said, "do you even know where we're going?"

Kamek looked annoyed. "Of course I do, Bowser. We're going to the Mario Land Grand Castle."

"Weally?" Bowser asked. "What'll we do once we get there?"

"Well," Kamek said, "we'll confront the king and the queen, explain to them what's going on, and ask them for the babies. If that doesn't work, we'll just have to take them by force."

"Ooh! Ooh! Can we break one of their windows?" Bowser asked excitedly.

"Why would we do that?" Kamek asked.

"It would make us look cool! Come on, let's do it!"

Kamek sighed. _Well... I suppose a dramatic entrance wouldn't hurt,_ he thought.

"Alright," he conceded, and the flying continued.

_Why must I drag this obnoxious brat along?_ he wondered. _All I can say is that he'd better stay out of my way._ He looked behind himself and saw the same fierce stare and sharp facial features as Gorroh. _Hopefully, he'll become a stronger Koopa in the process and learn the true meaning of vengeance like His Majesty said..._ Kamek thought this, and onward they flew...

* * *

Moments later, a tornado materialized in the middle of an incomprehensibly humungous room of brass. The tornado disappeared and in its place was left the spaceship of the aliens and the red man that had brought it there. This complex transportation unit had suddenly become surrounded by airplanes of all shapes and sizes and companies. Some of them even had pictures of mushrooms in their logos. This had all made things all the more complicated for the aliens. This, of course, was of no concern for a certain purple Yo'ster. Behind everyone's backs, he continued carrying out his scheme to flee the dangerous place alive...

* * *

Storko fastened a red bundle with white spots all over it and started carrying it in his bill as though it were one of the two babies he had dealt with earlier. He walked through the door leading to Dr. Kamenstein's huge room of vehicles and whatnot and exited that so he could find himself walking towards a cliff in the morning light. He looked back at the dome for a good few seconds and let out a sigh. He turned around and looked at where he saw the Kame Cruiser disappear last. He looked at his bony feet and shook his head.

_Doctor,_ he thought, _You won't have to deal with my bumbling anymore. I'll be going now..._ The depressed stork spread his wings and took off, flying away from the dome, forever leaving it behind. The bird had a past to run away from and was then on the verge of finding for himself a new life. He hoped he'd succeed...

* * *

Xoshi, White Rose, and a conscious Merlinda were back in front of Merlon and his table with the green ball on it. Good feelings all around were in the air. "I must admit, I underestimated you two," the old man said. "But you did it! You got rid of those pesky things and you rescued my niece."

"Thank you so much. I'd be dead by now if it weren't for you," Merlinda said, taking a bow. Xoshi scratched the back of his head.

"It was our pleasure," White Rose responded.

"There must be something I can do to repay you," Merlinda thought aloud. She rested her head against one of her hands. Then she brought it down in realization. "I know! I'll teleport the two of you anywhere you'd like to go, free of charge!" The two adventurers let their eyes go wide.

"Take us to the Clover Kingdom, please," White Rose requested.

"It shall be done," Merlinda said. She held out her hands. "Now just hold still..." Xoshi and White Rose did just that. They waited anxiously for this miraculous spell to carry them away. Sparks of purple were beginning to glitter about the girl's hands when she got interrupted by her uncle.

"Hold on!" he said. The sparkling around Merlinda's hands suddenly disappeared. "I would like to offer something for free as well."

Xoshi and White Rose looked at eachother. "Well, go ahead," White Rose said.

"I shall grant to each of you," he proposed, "predictions of your future." The old man cracked his knuckles. "Are you ready?" Their two visitors nodded their heads. "Alright then." He suddenly closed his eyes and held his hands out before them, letting them quiver. "Ooooo---------!" he said. "Crystal eye! Open wide!" The old man continued speaking strange magic words. "Aiiii----------! Aiiii-----------cha!! Ai, ai, ai------ching!!!" He blurted out the next one. "AH HAAAA!" Xoshi and White Rose jolted at the outburst. Then the ball on his table started glowing. A disco-ball lowered itself from the ceiling and started making star shapes shine everywhere in the room. During this, three little orbs of light commenced revolving around the ball while it gave off green flashes. The two visitors were dazzled by this display. Then the disco-ball disappeared into the ceiling and the ball stopped glowing. A lightbulb appeared over the Shaman's head. He put his hands down and opened his eyes. He turned to White Rose and started spouting out the prophecy. "You," he said. "You play a key role in something that will determine the fate of a large amount of people. However, you also hold the key to the fate of one person alone. Wield your sword and your wand, and someday the light will shine upon him."

White Rose nodded. Next it was Xoshi's turn.

"And you," he said the Yoshi. "I see your body..." Xoshi made his eyes wide. "...Lying down in the bloodstained grass. A lifeless look in your eyes." Neither White Rose nor Merlinda could believe what they had just heard. However, what they were feeling was nothing in contrast to Xoshi's position. The pupils in the brown Yoshi's eyes went tiny and he stopped breathing. What had the geezer meant by that? He felt as though a mercilessly frigid hand had just scuttled its way up his spine. He shuddered at the disturbing image that just popped into his head. "Okay, now off to the Clover Kingdom with you!" White Rose turned and looked at Xoshi, who still acted as though he had just heard a ghost greet him and tell him that they would meet again. The knight looked worried.

"Um, okay then," said the niece. "You two ready?" White Rose nodded. Xoshi remained frozen. "Alright!" She held her hands out and the purple glitter returned. It swirled around her hands and a similar effect was surrounding the two visitors. Gradually, the two of them had become two figures of white standing in the room. At last, in a huge flash of purple light and sparkles, the two of them were gone. The Clover Kingdom had instantly become theirs for the arriving at. Having been left behind, Merlinda turned to her uncle and asked him a question. "Merlon?" she said.

"Yes, dear?" he replied.

"What exactly did you mean by that prophecy?"

Merlon sighed. "In all honesty, Merlinda, I do not know. I can see the future, but I cannot read it."

Merlinda fiddled with her hands. "But...that nice Yoshi. Is he going to be alright?"

"We can only hope so, darling."

"Okay..."

* * *

Dr. Kamenstein flew himself and his female passenger over a nice, bushy forest. Once again, the doctor was deep in his thoughts. _Ugh... That Storko... Ruining everything for me... Grr..._ He suddenly looked down upon having something grab his attention. He saw something pink and symmetrical in the middle of the woods somewhere. Flying over it, he recognized it as the house that nearly got him killed. The roof was still stuck with a big hole in it._Ugh..._ he mentally groaned again. _I can only imagine what atrocities those two witches are doing right now..._ He lifted his head back up, shook off the heebie-jeebies, and returned to concentrating on getting back to Gana Village. _Whatever the case,_ he thought, _it's none of my concern..._


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**  
Sackle and Crookie were still in their powerful robot, the Giga Mole. They had spent a good amount of the last few hours piloting it towards the destination, a green spot on one of their screens, clawing through dirt all the while. They could tell they were getting closer and closer.

"This is it, boss! We're finally going to get the Belome doll!" Crookie said excitedly.

"We're gonna be rich, baby!" Sackle agreed. The two thieves were totally intoxicated by the thought of having their dreams being fulfilled. Greed and thrill were plastered upon their faces as they raced to the goal. Suddenly, the excitement vanished and the giant robot came to a halt, ceasing its digging action. The green spot they were going for had mysteriously disappeared. Sackle was ticked. "What the-" he blurted. "What's going on? Crookie, where'd Belome go?!"

"I dunno, boss!! It was here a second ago!" Crookie stammered.

"Well, find him! I can't take much more of this!!" Sackle spazzed.

"Right, boss!" Crookie started punching at a few more keys. The screen they were staring at suddenly started moving North-East. As its green grid-lines flew by, more and more of some new image began to show up. Once it took up the bulk of the screen, all was revealed. Sackle and Crookie were then looking at an outline of what resembled a giant four-leafed clover.

"What's going on?" Sackle said. "What the hell is that?"

"That's the, uh..." Crookie hit a few keys. "The Clover Kingdom, boss! That's where Belome went!"

"The Clover Kingdom, huh?" Sackle mused. "Okay. Whatever! Let's go."

"Righ-toh, boss!" Crookie shifted a few gears and the robot started changing direction. Within moments, the Giga Mole was back to clawing through the walls of the underground.

"Man," Sackle grumbled. "This search just keeps getting crazier and crazier..."

* * *

Boshi and Prof. E. Gadd were standing outside of the tavern they just spent the night at. The sun was in the air so it was time for both of them to attack the new day. Boshi spoke first.

"Well, um," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I guess you, uh, helped me out, so, uh..."

The professor chuckled a bit. "You're welcome, friend!" he said, patting the blue Yoshi on the arm and smiling. Boshi nodded.

"Yeah," said the tough Yo'ster. He set his arm down from the back of his head. "Well, Yoshi, Xoshi, and Yazzee are out there somewhere," he said. "I'm gonna go look for 'em. I don't know what you're gonna do."

"Oh, don't mind me. I'll just be here doing my best to unveil the mystery behind that strange, new flower," the scientist replied.

"Okay. You do that," Boshi responded, pointing to the scientific man. "Well, I'm off." Boshi held up a hand to represent his departure. "See ya."

"Good luck finding your friends!" E. Gadd encouraged. Boshi waved a hand with his back turned as he walked away. The ghost-oriented man watched him saunter off for a few seconds. He finally clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "Alright," he said. "Down to business!" The quirky man headed back into the tavern...

* * *

Somewhere in the middle of the woods, it was time for four adventurers to begin their journey anew. They woke up, stretched themselves out, took a good look at that temple in the distance, and began walking towards it, leaving a smoking pile of wood behind. After a while, the cheerful quartet was right before the foreboding entrance to this place. Their humungous leader had one thing to say.

"Well, Laser Snifit, Chogun, Davey?" he said. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," said the grey one.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" said the bug-like one.

"My adulthood is just around the corner. I can feel it!" said the little one.

"Alright, then," their leader said. "Onward!" With that, the brave four-some could walk up the checkered steps and disappear into the blackness of the strange temple they had been waiting for. Finally, the journey was nearing its end for Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey...

* * *

Annabyss, Tessa, and the Kamenstein Bros. were further along in Ganchan Canyon. The journey had been a hectic one, complete with more falling rocks and dodging than they would have liked. After a long while of close-calls and being covered in the dust of the place, the four of them had finally arrived at the entrance to a cave of sorts.

"We're not going in there, are we, Annie?" Tessa asked.

"We have to, dear. It's the only thing we can do," the woman replied.

"But..." Tessa stared into the blackness of the canyon's cavern. She could hear falling rocks in the background and could feel coldness. She shivered and rubbed her shoulders for warmth. "I'm scared."

The dark woman leaned over and placed a hand on the back of the girl's head. "You don't need to worry," she said, looking into the girl's eyes. "The boys and I will protect you."

Wario and Waluigi looked at Tessa, grinned, and gave her the thumbs-up. " Wir werden Sie schützen," they said at the same time. Tessa smiled.

"Well," Annabyss said. She slid her hand from Tessa's head. "Let's go in." She strode into the cave, disappearing into its depths.

"Ja, madame," the brothers said. They started goose-stepping after her. Tessa stared at them a bit. She looked behind her and saw a few more boulders break away from their respective walls and begin tumbling down into the canyon's pit. She shuddered and ran after her three comrades. Soon all four of them were inside, continuing their journey to Uaurpe...

* * *

The four of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey were soon enveloped in a realm they had never seen before. Here and there and all around them were floors, steps, hallways, ceilings, and walls of all sorts that were checkered with tiles of white and blue. They could almost feel their body temperatures drop just from looking at the strange combination of hues. However, other things were on their minds.

"Now where do we start?" Chogun asked.

"Hmm..." Big Guy looked around. Out of all the directions he looked in, the one straight ahead of them caught his interest the most. He pointed one beefy arm that way. "Forward!" he said. Everyone saw a plaque implanted into the wall at the far end of where the big man was pointing and caught on.

"Alright. Let's get to it!" Chogun said. With that, the four people started running down the tiled hall towards their destination. The image of that plaque gradually got larger the more they ran. Soon they would have it. Then suddenly...

WHAM!! "WHOA!!" Laser Snifit jumped back and everyone else skidded to a stop. They came to find out that their comrade was inches away from having been flattened by a big, blue cube. They looked at it in shock. "Man," Laser Snifit said, "what's up with this place?!"

"Treasure's never that easy to come by," Chogun commented.

Davey suddenly pointed upward. "LOOK OUT!!" he yelled. The other three just glanced up and could tell immediately jumping out of the way was what they had to do. WHAM!! It saved their lives.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Laser Snifit pouted.

"Good lord!!" Davey looked behind them and could see more cubes of white and blue were falling all over the place.

"Alright! Let's hustle!!" Big Guy ordered. The four of them started running even crazier than they did before. Their cautiousness levels had to be higher while they were at it as well as their evasive skills. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!! Big Guy, Chogun, and Davey could have been done for. Regardless, the four of them just kept running. Suddenly, WHAM!! A big, blue block slammed its way right in front of Big Guy. He suddenly grabbed a hold of the edge closest to him and he hurled himself over it and landed on the other side where he met his three comrades.

"Big Guy, are you alright?" Chogun asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But look!" he pointed and three heads turned. Right there was the plaque they were looking for.

"YES! Now for some answers," Chogun crowed. The four of them rushed up to it before another white block could flatten them. WHAM!!

The four of them crowded the big rectangle of gold. "What does it say?" Davey asked. Laser Snifit squinted his eyes and traced the words with a grey fin. He read it aloud.

_"If it's the treasure that you need,__  
__Then these instructions, you must heed:__  
__The top and bottom of this place__  
__Is what your presence is to grace.__  
__The left and right wings as well__  
__Have more rooms for you to dwell.__  
__These vital rooms; there are four in all.__  
__Each one has a switch-bearing wall.__  
__All of these switches must be flipped,__  
__But here's the part that can't be skipped:__  
__All at once, this must be done.__  
__Only then will your treasure be won."_

Big Guy scratched his head as more cubes fell in the background. "'All at once'? What does that mean?"

"You dummy! We have to go to the top, the bottom, the left, and the right parts of this place and flip their switches simultaneously!" Laser Snifit explained.

"Ohhh!" Big Guy said in realization.

"It's just like that time we went to the tomb in Star's End!" Chogun pointed out.

"So it is," Davey agreed.

"Alrighty then! Here's the plan," Big Guy said. "Laser Snifit, you take the bottom part. Chogun, you take the right. Davey, you take the left. Me? I'll take the top. Everyone got that?"

"Uh, maybe, but how will we know when to flip these switches?" Laser Snifit asked.

"We'll just know!" Big Guy assured. "Everyone know what to do?" Big Guy asked. They all nodded. "Alright! Let's get to it!"

"YES!" his three comrades agreed. At that, the four of them scattered, leaving the cubes to continue to fall in their wake...

Big Guy rushed onward. The two of him and Davey had taken the route to the left of the bronzed poem they had encountered while their other two teammates had done just the opposite. Every second they got further away from what had instructed them on what to do and closer to where they had to go. Lucky for Big Guy, a nice, big staircase leading to what was surely the upper chambers of this vicinity was soon to be his for the ascending. Before that was where the hallway split off into two different directions. That was where Davey skidded to a stop leaving Big Guy to commence rushing up the stairs. He quickly found himself turning around looking at the confused boy.

"What's your problem?" he said.

"Which way do I go?" Davey asked.

"I dunno. Pick one!" the muscle-man suggested.

"Okay," Davey replied. He headed off into the hallway to his left. Big Guy caught a glimpse of this and continued heading up the stairs...

Meanwhile, Laser Snifit was doing just the opposite. He had come across a flight of stairs leading down beneath the main parts of the temple and made the logical choice of descending them. Half-way through, the steps stopped, forcing him to run across a small rectangular room of sorts, turn, and start heading down another flight of stairs. Finally, he was in what definitely looked like where he needed to be. It was revealed that the basement of this odd place was a huge seemingly four-cornered room of orange and blue tiles rather than the blue and white ones he had quickly become accustomed to. What made it all the more stranger was the fact that the center of this room was taken up by a huge, bottomless pit. Laser Snifit could see that his only chance of getting across this crazy thing was by hopping across the rotating logs connecting the walls of the left and right sides of the pits.

"Oh, geez," Laser Snifit moaned. "Sometimes, I really hate being me." Laser Snifit twisted his body about preparing himself for the inevitable. "Well," he said, "here I go!"

The lab-coat-wearing 8-Bit sped off with all his might and courageously made that first leap onto that first log. Immediately, he could feel the pressure he had knocked into it with the landing forcing the log to start tilting forward. Centers of gravity were constantly changing and throwing the traveler into a state of confusion, but he had to keep things moving. He jumped in the nick of time and landed awkwardly in a similar fashion onto the next one, but this time the log started rotating even faster than the last one as a result. Once again, he had to think fast. Log after log, he had to keep jumping. Each segment of this brought about panic and confusion. All the while, he could feel a tightening in his chest becoming more and more prominent. He was losing his cool. At some point, SHWUP! He landed on the next log so badly, it sent him tumbling after the next one. In desperation, he started clawing furiously with his hands for something to latch onto. Doing this, he flung himself onto the next one which caused the log to start spinning so fast he couldn't even think for a split-second. He leapt onto the next one and continued this faster than ever. Hop! Hop! Hop! Hop!! Just a few more to go... Almost there... Laser Snifit's eyes widened. Just one more remained! Using all his might he leapt onto it, felt its spinning, and immediately leapt off, landing harshly on the ground. He made it!!

"Phew!!" Laser Snifit rasped. "I could have been a goner!!" Laser Snifit panted and swallowed a few times before he could get on with the rest of this. Afterwards, he found himself at the end of this room. The whole thing consisted of a big, fat wall with a switch easily within reach. "Ah! This must be it," Laser Snifit noted as he approached it. "Hm?" He also noticed how this switch just happened to be beneath a square-shaped light blinking red that was about the same size of the switch itself. Sandwiched between these two things were two more lights just like it. "Hmm..." Laser Snifit extended a grey fin and wrapped it around the switch...

The left wing of this place was interesting for Davey. He found himself in a gigantic rectangular room with tiles of yellow and purple and a humungous pit in the middle of it. He couldn't cross this pit as there was no bridge, but rather a whole bunch of columns rising from the pit and connecting to this room's very high ceiling. Hanging off of various places of each of these pillars were assorted circular mirrors.

"How am I supposed to get past this one?" Davey pondered. The mirrors were definitely noticeable to him. He kept looking at them until he noticed something: there practically wasn't a single mirror here that wasn't pointing to another mirror! "Interesting," he mused, "but what does it mean?" He thought this over for a bit, and then looked at the laser pistol in his holster. "Hmm..."

Davey then began to run along the pillars closest to him, examining what mirrors he could in the process. For a while, all he could see was reflections within reflections within reflections. It was getting tiresome. Then finally...BINGO! Something caught his eye. He suddenly stopped and stared closely at one particular mirror. Yes...this seemed to be the key. He squinted as much as he could in order to make out what it was that made him stop and look at this. It turned out that one of the tiny mirrors he could make out within this mirror had a rope in the middle of it. Davey could smell the treasure already.

"Alright, here goes," he mumbled. He pulled out his pistol, held it before him, closed one eye, aimed at the dead center of the mirror, waited, and fired. TSSEEWW!! CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING CHING!! What Davey had done amazed even him. The instant he squeezed that trigger, a beam of red light burst from the gun and nailed the mirror. The instant that happened, it flew off and bounced off of another mirror. After that, it bounced off another mirror and so on. It was going so fast, Davey's keen eyes were beginning to burn from zipping back and forth looking at red light continuously. At last came the moment of truth. In just a few split-seconds, CHING CHING BZZZDDTT!! That rope had been snapped. It released its hold of the top of its pillar and made the thing come crashing down like a tree that had just been chopped. Seeing this massive, checkered pillar come falling towards him, Davey jumped out of the way ahead of time. WHHAAMM!! The thing had broken its fall. At that moment, it was officially a bridge, fixing the gap between the two sides of the pit. "Yes!" Davey celebrated. He jumped onto the newly-formed bridge and ran across its checkered surface feeling ready for anything.

Once he made it across, he found a wall with a switch on it. To the right of it was a rectangle blinking red. The two of those things were stuck between two more of the blinking lights. Davey pondered it over. "Interesting," he said. He lifted up a hand and grabbed a hold of the switch...

"Hmm..." Big Guy stated, scratching the back of his head. This man was standing in front of a huge wall which was checkered red and green like anything else in this small, rectangular room. He had been struggling to figure out the riddle of this particular room: he had to show how it was possible to change the arrow pointing left on the wall of detachable black tiles into an arrow pointing right using only four of the tiles. "Umm..." Big Guy continued thinking. "Gee, this is a tough one," he complained. He started clutching at his head with both hands in frustration. Images of checker boards and arrows started whirling around the big man's head as he tried to make sense of it all. "What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!" he wailed. The shadows of panic and failure were beginning to sweep over the giant 8-Bit. There was nothing he could do! "Rrrg..." he growled in irritation. He threw his hands down from his head and curled one into a trembling, beefy fist. "Ah, screw this!!" he exclaimed. KA-BLLAAMMM!! Big Guy's fist connected with the arrow in the wall and sent ripples of destruction echoing through it. In mere seconds, the entire obstacle was reduced to a steaming pile of debris. "Alright!!" Big Guy yelled.

Finally, he could advance forward. After making his way across the pile of destruction, he came upon another wall.

"Argh, not again!!" Big Guy groaned. Then he noticed the wall just consisted of a switch above two rectangles blinking red that were above another one just like them. "Oh. Right." Big Guy said, relieved. He moved one muscular arm forward and prepared for some switch-flipping...

Chogun was in a room that was checkered grey and dark grey. Before him was a wall with a single doorway. "Well, it's now or never," said the bug man. He entered the doorway, but soon found out that behind it was little more than pitch-black. "Oh, drat," Chogun grumbled to himself. "This'll be trickier than I thought." Chogun then found a wall to lean against and he closed his eyes. He waited like this for minutes on end, letting the time slowly drift by. He just stayed there and waited. Soon, he knew he'd be able to open them up again. And...now!! He opened his eyes up and everything had become clear. He could see walls, hallways, and doorways all throughout the vicinity, all of them resembling the grey and dark grey colors of the last room, but this time with a bit of a dark blue tone added to it. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and it was time for action.

Chogun let his feet and his senses guide him. He strained his eyes, his ears, and even his nose and his instincts for all they were worth. If he had the feeling he should go left, then he would go left. However, if he smelled something or felt something in the air, then he would decide against it. A complicated system was what he had managed to develop in order to get through this, and he was trusting every last ounce of it. Right, forward, left, left, forward, back, right... It went on like this.

At last, his senses showed him exactly how trustworthy they were. Once he took that last turn, he could see the light he was looking for. He ran towards it, took a right, and finally made his way out of that mess of twists and turns. What made him feel even more triumphant about this was the fact that he was then standing before a wall with a switch on it. To the left of this switch was a blinking rectangle. These two things were stuck between two rectangular blinking lights just like that one. Chogun could tell this was his cue. He reached forward with one of his three-fingered hands and grabbed the switch...

SHICK! SHICK! SHICK! SHICK! All four of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey had flipped their switches. Judging by the loud noise they heard next (WWHHAAAAMMM!!), they had done it at just the right time. With a feeling of satisfaction, relief, and excitement, the quartet began heading back to their last meeting place...

* * *

It was the morning after the ceremony and it was time for a young boy named Hyrg complete with his strange, new robe and a creepy woman named Oceanus to go out into the courtyard of the secret hideout of the ever so enigmatic Death Sickles. The courtyard was a wide one being composed mostly of a particularly large patch of dirt surrounded by bushes that had parts of the wooden building behind them. There was no way out of this place.

Hyrg looked up and saw that behind this building all around him were the tall, lush, plumy, dark green trees of the Forbidden Forest. Above that was the blue sky, speckled with small, fluffy clouds here and there. The sun could shine down on this place, but little could brighten it up.

To top it off, various other Death Sickles of all shapes and sizes were already in the courtyard performing a wide variety of different activities. Some were practicing archery, some were running around in circles, and one of them even was just standing in front of a shrub with his hands held out. _Oh my god, this place is weird,_ Hyrg thought for about the millionth time.

"No gawking," Oceanus said as flatly as usual. "Come on."

Hyrg grimaced and continued following this white-haired nightmare through the courtyard. Hyrg would turn his head left and right to observe the other Death Sickles and their activities. One particular one that caught his attention was the one with the shrub. The Death Sickle scrunched his eyes shut and concentrated. The instant he did, the shrub lit fire. He pumped his arms in victory. Another Death Sickle walked up to him and patted him on the back. Hyrg was intrigued by this. However, he couldn't be intrigued by it any longer. Oceanus had led him to a Death Sickle that was a little bit taller than her and had better posture than her. He also had a frilly tail sticking out from behind his robe and two big, pointy ears sticking out of his hood. He was busy fighting invisible enemies using a sword with a blade that appeared to be made out of teal light with stars of the same color outlined in a slightly darker version of it swimming across it. It vaguely reminded Hyrg of his own sword. The two of him and Oceanus were soon two people standing just a ways away from this energetic swordsman. Oceanus grabbed his attention.

"Galileo," she said flatly. The man suddenly stopped and turned to face who called his name. Hyrg finally got to see it. Unlike most of the other people he had seen here, this man seemed to have the hairy yet pretty face of a wolf. The only thing reminiscent of anyone else he had seen here was that the majority of his fur was grey and his eyes were yellow.

"Yes, Oceanus?" Galileo said in response.

"This is Hyrg." she said, barely even gesturing towards the boy. "You're to teach him how to use the sword like you can."

"Understood," said the wolf.

"Good luck," Oceanus said. Before leaving, she spent a few seconds staring Hyrg down. This just made him even more confused. Then Oceanus walked away, leaving Hyrg with the wolf named Galileo.

"How long will this take?" Hyrg asked.

"A few years," Galileo said. Hyrg's eyes jolted wide open.

"'A few years'?! Are you crazy?! I don't have that kind of time!!" the younger one protested.

"Everyone here has that kind of time," Galileo pointed out.

"But..." Hyrg said. He didn't know how to phrase his next argument. "I'm not like you people!!"

Galileo chuckled. Hyrg suddenly could feel more astonishment than anger. He couldn't believe people actually laughed here.

"What's so funny?" Hyrg asked, still a bit annoyed.

"You remind me of me when I first became a Death Sickle," Galileo replied.

Hyrg was even more astonished. "When did you become a Death Sickle?" he asked, but this time there was even less of an edge to his voice.

"Ehhh," Galileo said, rubbing his furry chin with one of his white, fuzzy hands. Hyrg noticed they had long, black, pointy fingernails like the others. "A couple of years ago."

"How'd it happen?" Hyrg asked. All kinds of mysteries were lying at his feet.

"Well," Galileo said, "they found me and..." The wolf trailed off. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Ah, there's time for questions later. Right now, we've got to hone your skills." Hyrg hung his head a little by the sudden end of the interview. SHING! His head was brought up again. He saw Galileo had taken a step back and was in a fighting stance with his sword in his right hand and his left palm facing the boy. "Alright, Hyrg," he said. "Fight me."

Hyrg was confused and a little frightened. "What?!" he blurted.

"You heard me," Galileo said. He flipped his sword around through his white fingers as though it were a pencil. Hyrg gulped at the sight. "Come on now, take out your sword and fight me!!"

Hyrg could feel a few drops of cold sweat forming on his forehead, but he decided he'd better obey anyway. He pulled out his black sword and tried holding it in a way similar to that of Galileo's, but the boy was trembling and ended up looking more pitiful than intimidating.

"Now," Galileo said, making a beckoning movement with his left hand, "kill me."

"Kill you?!" Hyrg said.

"Just do it!!" Galileo commanded.

Naturally, Hyrg hesitated. He mustered up whatever energy he could to gather what wits he had and he got it on. He ran towards the wolf bringing his sword upward. Once he got close enough, he swung the blade forward, and CHING! Galileo stopped it by bringing down his own blade. Hyrg was confused. SHING! Galileo yanked his blade away from the boy, sliding his sword off and making him jump back in the process. Then it was Galileo's turn. He ran forward and swiped at the boy using a maneuver relatively similar to the one Hyrg had just tried. CLANG! Hyrg blocked it with his sword. CLANG! He had to block it again, but this time, from a different angle. He could tell this guy was good. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Hyrg just kept backing up and blocking, and blocking and backing up. SHING! In the next split-second, Hyrg's sword was knocked right out of his grasp. The boy was confused. Now Galileo was using two swords. Hyrg was unarmed. In the middle of his confusion, Galileo shot one of his feet out and yanked it into the back of one of Hyrg's heels. WHUMP! Now the boy was lying on his back on the ground. Galileo plopped down on top of him using his knee to press into his chest and using the two swords in an X-shape that was dangerously close to the boy's neck. The match was over.

Galileo stared into Hyrg's unblinking, fear-filled eyes. He was panting a bit heavily. Galileo lightened up, took his knee off the newer Death Sickle, and stepped away. Hyrg slowly got up off the ground, clutching at his chest while trying to catch his breath and relieve himself of the shakes. Galileo stared at him.

"You have never used a sword before," he said. Hyrg looked up at him. "You hold it awkwardly, you're slow on your feet, you hesitate to attack, you ooze with fear, and you retreat more often than you fight back." Hyrg looked dumbfounded. In just a few seconds, this man could point out more flaws in him than he himself ever could in years. "I can see we've got much work to do," Galileo said. He tossed Hyrg his black sword and he caught it. "Come with me." Galileo began walking the way Hyrg and Oceanus had just came from. Hyrg just watched.

"Where're we going?" he asked.

"You'll see," said the wolf. Hyrg paused before obeying. He blinked a little, then started walking after his new teacher, wondering what was in store for him...

* * *

Big Guy and Davey rushed in from one direction and Laser Snifit and Chogun rushed in from the other. The quartet was together again at the place where they split up. On one side of them was an entire wall of big, blue and white tiles. Big Guy looked at it and scratched his head.

"Well, I guess we can't bail out now!" he said.

"The only way left to go is forward," Chogun said, pointing out how the bronzed poem they read earlier had been replaced by a long hallway with green and black tiles. "Let's go!"

"Alright!" Laser Snifit and Davey said. The four-some ditched the wall of blue and white and started running down the hall, uncertain of what was in store for them next...

* * *

The cave had been a long, winding, dark, moist, creepy, foreboding, and overall rather unpleasant experience for the four of Annabyss, Tessa, and the Kamenstein Bros.. All the while, Annabyss had been taking the lead, lighting the way for them by making her silhouette-like form take on the shape of a Fishin' Boo. The blue fireball she had on the end of her fishing line provided them with an eerie, but reliable blue glow that greatly helped guide them through the place.

"Annie?" Tessa asked.

"Yes, dear?" said the Lakitu-like woman.

"How long until we get out of this cave?" the girl said.

"A little longer," said the sorceress. "Just stay alert, remain calm, and be ready for anything."

"Alright," Tessa replied. At that, the group continued journeying.

_Annie's amazing,_ the girl thought. _She always knows what to do and nothing ever scares her..._

A while after that, the clique came upon a particularly wide area in the middle of the cave with an open roof. Being able to see the morning sky, the four people entered it with caution, constantly keeping their eyes peeled. When they least suspected it...TSSEEEWWW!! The wall behind them got blasted by a big, yellow laser beam. Their eyes first observed the smoking, scorched hole it made and then at the source of it. Tessa was shocked, but her other three party-members showed no change in their expression. What they were looking at was a gigantic Melon Bug wearing a pair of strange, white gloves on its antennae. Both were steaming. The monster was looking bloodthirsty.

"So this is what has shot us down," Annabyss said. She morphed into the shape of a giant Blooper while the Kamenstein Bros. suddenly did an odd, rather slowly-paced little dance in perfect unison with moves as though they were made of liquid which eventually had them getting into identical fighting stances. "You shall fell no more victims," Annabyss declared.

"Stehen Sie hinter, Tessa," the boys said simultaneously. Tessa took a step behind her and watched anxiously as her three teammates began to take matters into their own hands.

"Be careful!" she pleaded. She got another thumbs-up from the boys for a response. Letting strands of electricity flicker around its gloves, the giant Melon Bug glared down at its three opponents. They were as ready as ever.

"To battle," Annabyss growled. The giant Melon Bug made more sparks fly as the Kamenstein Bros. started running towards it. Annabyss launched herself into the air with her tentacles and the fight had begun...

* * *

The black and green hallway had led Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey to a large, rectangular, black and green room. They could see a wide set of steps leading to a slightly higher raised version of the floor they were running across. At the end of it was a vast wall and in the middle of this wall was a doorway. Beyond that, they could see a treasure chest. Victory wasn't too far away.

"We're gonna make it. We're gonna make it!" Big Guy said excitedly.

"Closer, closer!" Laser Snifit said.

"Finally, it's coming!" Chogun exclaimed.

"Come on, come on!!" Davey urged.

The quartet was indeed an excited bunch. The stairs were coming closer, as was the treasure. Then... Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop!! The four travelers skidded to a halt. They could see that four things had just fallen directly from the ceiling. Right in front of each of them was a Buzzy Beetle. However, these Buzzy Beetles were nothing out of the ordinary. Rather than the standard light blue, each of these creatures' shells were white and sparkly. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey had a batch of four-legged diamonds in their way, and none of them looked very happy. The Diamond Beetles all pawed at the ground like rhinos, puffed like bulls, and glared like basilisks. The travelers knew what was coming.

"I knew it wasn't gonna be that easy," Laser Snifit grumbled, getting himself into a fighting stance.

"No problem! Piece of cake!" Big Guy said, cracking his knuckles.

"Feel the wrath of Chogun!" said the bug man as he whipped out his axe.

"You're all goners," Davey threatened as he pulled out his laser pistol.

"Charge!!" Big Guy bellowed, swinging his club forward like a sword. The two parties sped towards eachother and clashed in a fury of thrashing and bashing...

* * *

To show the giant Melon Bug what was good for it, Wario leapt into the air and socked it one with a nice, solid fist connecting with its round chest. WHAM! With his tremendous strength, the giant went somersaulting backwards. SLAM!! It hit the wall. This seemed to spell good news for Annabyss and the boys at first, but the enemy had soon turned into a gigantic, constantly spinning cannonball that was coming right at them. Thinking quickly, Wario jumped one way, Annabyss jumped another, and Waluigi sprang his way high up into the air. This was enough to dodge the maneuver. CRASH!! The Melon Bug collided with another wall. It uncurled itself, shook it head, and continued the fight. All the while, Tessa just sat back and watched in anxiety...

* * *

Big Guy's Diamond Beetle pulled itself into its shiny shell, started whirling around really fast, and shot itself at the muscle man. Big Guy jumped into the air and pulled out his club. As he came down, he swung the club downward, and SMASH!! He demolished the tiled floor. The Diamond Beetle he was aiming for was too fast and had already sped back to its original position. It and Big Guy glared at eachother. The overgrown Shy Guy tightened his grip on his weapon and ran towards his opponent...

Laser Snifit fired an incinerating hoop of light at his enemy. The Beetle tried to dodge it, but was slammed by the assault. BZZT!! This caused it to flip over and land on its back. Seeing the monster was too distracted wiggling its feet in the air and flinging off drops of sweat in an attempt at getting back up, Laser Snifit ran towards it and jumped up. TING! He landed on the Beetle as planned, but he was too late; the pest had flipped itself over and Laser Snifit only managed to nail it in its rock hard shell. He fell off and started lying on the ground clutching at his sore feet. Laser Snifit was angered and the Beetle could very well see that the tables had turned...

Chogun saw his enemy starting to whirl around. He had his brand new axe held up in the air. ZOOM! Once the Diamond Beetle was off, Chogun swung forward. WHAM! CLANG! The floor had some damage done to it, but there wasn't a single scratch on the Beetle. It seemed the bug man had attacked too soon considering that the Beetle had just ricocheted off his blade. He began struggling to pull the axe he had just lodged in the ground. He figured he had to do so soon since the Beetle was looking menacing again. It began to whirl around once more and Chogun pulled harder...

Davey grinned at his Beetle. The Beetle just grimaced. Davey whipped out his laser pistol and fired. TSEW! TING! The laser bounced off the Beetle's lustrous shell and scorched one of the building's walls. He looked perplexed. WHAM!! Davey was knocked back. He fell on his back and his weapon clammered to the ground, falling from his grasp. Looking up, he could see the Beetle was whirling around again. In a situation like this, the boy could only hastily plan out his next move. No doubt, these Beetles were nothing like the Goombas they faced the other day. Regardless, the travelers hung in there...

* * *

The Melon Bug made its next move. It made its gloves sizzle, and in the next instant, it fired another laser beam, this time towards Waluigi. TSSEEWW!! Waluigi jumped out of the way and soared through the air towards the Melon Bug with one heel aiming for it. WHAM!! He got it right in the shnoz. The Melon Bug was knocked back once again. It got itself together for the second time so it could perform more assaults. This time, it sent a barrage of lasers at its enemies, forcing all three of Annabyss and the brothers to start dancing. TSEW! TSEW! TSEW!! Fortunately, a few scorch marks in the ground was all this was able to pull off. Annabyss sprang into the air, aimed at the enemy's face, and unleashed a surge of black, syrupy ink into it. SHA-BLLOORRPP!! The Melon Bug had been blinded. It started firing in all kinds of crazy directions. Too distracted with its firing, two of the Melon Bug's enemies, Wario and Waluigi, commenced a new attack. The yellow one grabbed a hold of the blue one's wrists and started spinning him around in an airplane ride. When the super strong brother caught a glimpse of green out of the corner of his eye, he let his sibling fly. WHAM!! The Melon Bug was double-kicked in the stomach, and Waluigi sprang off its body, landing on the ground again. Now the monster was mad...

* * *

Once Big Guy was close enough, he swung his club downward. SMASH!! Once again, no harm was done. The Beetle flew off in the nick of time and Big Guy had to look behind him to see where it had gone. It was a few feet away again. He saw the Beetle begin to whirl around, as well as the two craters of ruined tiles he was able to make. As the Beetle spun like a top, Big Guy contemplated how to pull this one off. Finally, a light bulb appeared over his head and he looked at the Beetle with his club ready as ever...

Laser Snifit's Diamond Beetle shot towards him, but the grey 8-Bit jumped over it. Like a boomerang, the Beetle just spun itself right back where it originally was. Deciding not to blow any chances, the grey man shot another ring of energy. BZZT! The Beetle was knocked over again. Laser Snifit ran towards it for the second time, but he fired another one of his strange projectiles while he was at it. BZZT!! The Beetle jolted as it was nailed once again. Surely, this battle was nearing its end...

ZOOM! Chogun's Beetle was off like a rocket. Noticing this in a panic, Chogun ripped his axe out of the ground and jumped aside, letting his opponent sail past him. He felt relieved, but then he saw the Beetle curve in a new direction and start heading back towards him like a homing torpedo. _It has to end soon,_ Chogun thought grimly, holding his axe up...

Davey's eyes darted back and forth between looking at the spinning Beetle and his gun. When the time was right, ZOOM! The Beetle shot out, and so did Davey. He rolled to his side, picked up the weapon, and fired, not at the Beetle necessarily, but rather at the ground beside it. TSEW!! This hurt the ground more than it did the Beetle, but the blast was enough to cause the monster to flip over. With things like this, he held the gun up, closed an eye, and aimed...

Big Guy watched carefully. Once the Beetle was ready, Z-BOOM!! When the 8-Bit just barely saw the creature speeding off again, he slammed his club into the ground so hard, it sent a shockwave in his opponent's direction. This flipped the Beetle over and Big Guy ran towards it, club in hand...

When Laser Snifit was within great proximity of his downed foe, PUNT! He kicked it right in its face. The Diamond Beetle flipped itself right-side-up just in time only to be knocked to its back again. Laser Snifit took a jump into the air once more...

Chogun watched his Diamond Beetle speed towards him with great anticipation. It was almost killing him. _Any second now..._ he thought. _Wait._ Realization dawned on the man. _This is..._ When the timing was just right...

WHAM! BAM! SHUNK! TSEW!! Big Guy slammed his club into the belly of his Beetle, Snifit landed a heavy blow on his, Davey fired at his, and Chogun had chopped his in half. In that second, all four of the Diamond Beetles had become five individual piles of sparkling, white blood. Their former-opponents stood back and watched in great satisfaction as these messes suddenly began to evaporate and become pillars of steam.

_Just like the dream..._ Chogun thought. Now nothing stood in their way.

"Well," Big Guy said, putting his club away as the others performed similar actions, "that was a bit challenging." His comrades all uttered various agreements. Their gigantic leader turned around, looked at the door they desired, and spoke out. "Well, the worst is over. Come on! The treasure awaits!!"

"YEAH!!" the other three cheered. With that out of the way, the quartet ran up the stairs in great excitement. At last the moment they had been waiting for was seconds away...

* * *

Things still weren't wrapped up for Annabyss and co., however. To get the gunk off its face, the Melon Bug made its gloves sizzle with sparks once again and suddenly had showers of water spraying from their fingertips. The muck slid right off and the Melon Bug shook its face like a dog to get the rest of it off. It glared at its three enemies. They looked ready to give it some more. The Melon Bug's gloves sizzled again and started firing more lasers. This time, they were bigger, stronger, and faster, so the three-some was having an even more difficult time trying to survive this mayhem. In addition to this, whenever the lasers would collide with the floor or the walls, they would blast out huge boulders that would start tumbling down here and there. It seemed as though the entire canyon was coming apart. Feeling the shaking and looking at all the craziness, Tessa couldn't help but fear for her life, but also be in awe at what those monster's gloves were capable of. Suddenly, she could see she was right beneath a round shadow. She looked up, became horrified, and shrieked. SHWOOP! BOOM!! With noone to flatten, the boulder crashed to the ground and shattered to pieces. Lucky Tessa had been yanked out of the way by a rather long, stretchy arm of Annabyss after she had transformed herself into a creature not unlike a Boo Blah.

"You...saved me," Tessa said meekly.

"I can't let you die, dear," the woman said. Tessa smiled. With the girl in one massive hand, Annabyss stretched out the other like a humungous rubber band. SHUCK! Using a thumb and an index finger, she managed to pierce right through the troublesome beast's eyes. It roared in pain. "Now, boys!!" she yelled.

The brothers nodded. They started running towards the giant Melon Bug, and the Melon Bug itself glared and started making more sparks with its gloves. When it least suspected it, WHAM!! Waluigi dropped to the floor, swung out one of his long, spindly legs, and used it to slam into both of the monster's enormous feet, starting with its left one, causing the creature to come crashing down, face-first. Before it could hit the ground, Wario used his stubby legs to leap up and slam one beefy fist right into the behemoth's cranium. CRACKK!! Not only did this break a bone or two, but it also made the enemy slam into the ground even harder. Dark green blood started oozing from the monstrosity's nose and from an opening in its head between its antennae.

The Kamenstein Bros. stepped back. Annabyss had put Tessa down and reverted back to her normal self. The cave stopped falling apart and clouds of dust started drifting into the air as the group of four stared at what they had slain. Annabyss strode towards the dead body. She got a good look at it. "Tondariya," she said. "She's returning..."

Tessa looked confused. "Tondariya?" she asked.

"Tondariya... She was one of the many reasons the world was going through such troubled times 300 years ago," the sorceress explained. "We may have more on our plates than we expected..."

"Hm," Tessa said. She stared at the fallen beast a while longer, then began to walk up to it. She ambled past Annabyss and stood directly in front of the monster's corpse. She looked its gloves over and took them in in more detail. She noticed although they were white for the most part, the backs of them had these strange symbols on them. Each one looked vaguely like a seven-pointed star, but actually looked more like something with two legs, two arms, two wings, a torso, and a head. Each segment looked somewhat like a variation of a triangle for the most part, and each one was a different color, like red, green, and blue, etc.. However, the head and the torso shared the same color as the two were connected. After establishing this, Tessa took a glove in each of her small hands and slipped them off.

"Tessa, dear," Annabyss said, watching her explore these things, "what are you doing?"

"I just want them," Tessa said innocently. She slid them onto each of her hands. She looked at them in great interest and wiggled her fingers beneath them. A perfect fit.

"You're an interesting girl, Tessa," Annabyss said.

"Thanks," Tessa replied, fiddling with her new-found gloves some more.

"Well, everyone," Annabyss announced, "we move on..."

"Ja, Madame," the Kamenstein Bros. said once again. Seeing Annabyss turn into a Fishin' Boo and take the lead again, they started goose-stepping after her. Tessa shortly followed. Having completed another insane part of their quest, the quartet left the room, leaving the oversized Melon Bug to rot with its steaming debris beneath the shining sun...

* * *

Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Chogun, and Davey were finally in the room of the treasure chest. The room was tiled red and black and the chest itself was seated atop an upraised section of the floor. The four treasure-hunters eyed it hungrily. Big Guy rested his fists on his hips in satisfaction, Laser Snifit folded his arms smugly, Chogun was rubbing his three-fingered hands together, and Davey looked as though he were trying to stop himself from bursting out laughing.

"This is it, Chak!" Davey said, referring to the bug by his actual name. "We can finally finish this and put this crazy journey behind us!"

Chogun chuckled a bit. He folded his arms and shook his head. Davey looked questioningly at him. "Just like the dream," he said. Davey's mouth slowly twisted into a smile upon hearing this. He nodded his head.

"Right," the boy said. "Let's do it!!" After that, the young one turned and ran excitedly across the room. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, and Chogun weren't too far behind. Davey jumped onto the platform and Chogun was behind him. They both stared wide-eyed at the chest as though it would vanish the second they blinked. Slowly, Davey bent his knees and placed his small hands on the upper half of the wooden thing. "How I've waited for this moment," he said quietly to himself, barely able to contain his excitement. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, and Chogun watched and waited anxiously. Time was drifting at a slower rate than usual, and it was killing them. Finally, Davey pushed forward. KA-CHUNK. The chest was opened and all was revealed. The box contained...

...Absolutely nothing.

Everyone gasped, noticeably shocked. Big Guy took a step back, Laser Snifit threw his arms down, Chogun dropped his sturdy axe to the ground, resulting in a loud clattering, and Davey just sat there on his knees with a blank look on his face as though his soul just left his body.

"Wh-Wh-" Chogun stammered. "What is the meaning of this?! WHERE'S THE TREASURE?!?" The bug jerked his head towards Big Guy and Laser Snifit did the same, but much slower.

"Uh, um, well, uh," Big Guy said while tapping the tips of his fin-like hands together like a pair of index fingers. "Well..." he hesitated some more. This didn't change the fact that four accusing eyes were boring into him. "Come on. Don't tell me none of you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, someone already found the treasure. Right?"

"I get turned into this...hideous, bug thing," Chogun lamented. "David becomes a little boy. Then you two come along, as friendly as ever, promising us that there's a way to turn us back." Chogun bent down and picked his axe up off the ground. "You gave us your word," Chogun growled, clutching his axe tightly. "You gave us your word, damn it. We got out of that messy jungle, watched a huge fight, rode across the sea on this big...turtle thing, spent two nights out in the wilderness, went through hell saving a bunch of Goombas we didn't even know, had an equally hard time of it in this godforsaken temple, all the while clinging desperately to the thought that there was still hope for us, that there were people out there that cared, that our lives could go back to normal in no time..." Chogun breathed heavily, looking down at the ground. He then bolted his head up and glared at Big Guy some more. "What for?! We came all this way for NOTHING?!"

"Um..." Big Guy said, looking as nervous as all get-out.

"I'm...stuck like this," Davey gasped, still not looking behind him. He was like a statue brought to life. "I'm not gonna get any respect. I'll never win a woman's heart. Never. It's all over..."

Laser Snifit lowered his head and shook it wearily. Seeing so much disapproval aimed in his direction, Big Guy had to say something. "Look," he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. Honest! If there's anything I can do to make it up-"

"-There's nothing you can do," Chogun sighed. He put his axe back where it belonged, turned towards Davey, and put a hand on his shoulder, who had his face buried into his hands. Slowly Davey lifted his face from them and looked at his friend. "Come on," Chogun said. Davey stared at him for a second, and then he turned his head back towards the chest. He gazed at its emptiness for a while and sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment, and opened them back up. Letting Chogun slide his hand off his shoulder, he pushed himself up off the ground, and was back on his feet.

Chogun turned around and faced the doorway they used to come in. Davey did the same. Chogun looked at Big Guy and Laser Snifit. Big Guy's fins were folded as though he were pleading and Laser Snifit just folded his arms droopily. They looked back as Chogun stared at them, not with red-hot, flaming eyes, but with a very sad, apologetic facial expression. "Good bye," Chogun said. With that, he let himself down from the platform with Davey sulking behind him.

Big Guy and Laser Snifit watched sluggishly as their former two teammates walked out on them. Seeing them disappear, Big Guy dropped his arms down like a pair of weights and hung his head. It was like the upper half of his muscular body suddenly became a ton or two heavier, too much even for him to handle. Laser Snifit watched him in pity.

"Snifit," Big Guy said, "you were right all along; I AM an idiot."

"Awww," Laser Snifit droned. "Don't be so hard on yourself, man. It wasn't your fault."

"Had I have known..."

"Noone could have known about this, Big Guy. It just happened. What's important is that you tried your best. Plus, it's the thought that counts..."

"Snifit," Big Guy said, "shut up..."

Laser Snifit sighed and hung his head at that remark. In such similar positions, the two of them looked like twins. Defeated and all alone in the middle of this deathly silent place, the grey 8-Bit thought one thing. _Well...what now?..._

* * *

Hyrg and Galileo were in a gargantuan room loaded with shelves upon shelves of books as well as various chairs and tables. The Death Sickles even had a library. Some of them were even here studying and writing things down. Hyrg looked at the humungous place in awe. _These guys have even more books than that Dr. Kamenstein guy does,_ he thought. However, there was something he still didn't understand. He turned and looked at the anthropomorphic wolf.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

"Knowledge," Galileo said, beginning to walk through the enormous sanctum with his young disciple following. "Knowledge is very important, Hyrg. However, wisdom is even more important." The wolf turned his head to look behind himself and let the boy catch a glimpse of one of his yellow eyes. "Do you know what the difference is between knowledge and wisdom?"

"Uh, no," Hyrg replied.

"Knowledge is what you learn from someone telling you something," the older Death Sickle explained. "Wisdom is what you learn from something you personally experienced. So, in a sense, knowledge is but simulated wisdom."

"Oookay," Hyrg said. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Everyone possesses knowledge and wisdom," the wolf went on, "whether it's about glaciers, Blarggs, or swords. Unfortunately, it's not possible to know everything, nor is it possible to have the same experiences as everyone. Unlike most of the Death Sickles here, what I have on me is, not just knowledge of the Twelve Gods of Chaos, but personal experience as well. Therefore, I can tell you better than any textbook can who and what exactly those beings were."

Hyrg looked amazed. "You can??"

"Yes," Galileo responded. He suddenly stopped walking, allowing Hyrg to do the same shortly afterwards. He slid his index finger across a certain row of books until he stopped it at one. He pulled it out, started carrying it with one arm, then led Hyrg out of the shelves and up to a table where he set the book down, opened it up, and started flipping through the pages. He stopped upon reaching two pages with a vast picture on it of what appeared to be an army of mummy-like monsters going at it with an army of strange, little elf-like creatures in the middle of a battlefield. Floating in the red sky was a titanic, dark purple crystal with a single eye like a Cyclops and four ugly tentacles not far from the ones an octopus would have. "Trondaga," Galileo said while Hyrg was busy looking at the gruesome picture. "Many years ago, this tragic series of events that threw the whole world into a state of mayhem began. There were numerous reasons behind its eruption, but mainly it was due to twelve extremely powerful, and extremely power-hungry beings. All of them wanted either to destroy the world, conquer the world, both, or worse." Galileo flipped through a few more pages. This time, he stopped on one that showed a map of the entire world. "Nations everywhere were forced to choose sides, but no matter what anyone did, it just resulted in more bloodshed. Seventy-million died."

Hyrg gulped. _Seventy-million??_

"If there's anything the sentient beings of the world have failed to realize throughout time, it's that the solution to a problem begins with the problem itself, not the products of that problem. In other words, few knew that the end of those twelve beings would be the end of all this madness..." Galileo again flipped the pages, showing Hyrg a picture of a group of strange-looking people. One of them looked like the wolf himself.

"Who's that? You're great-great-grandfather?" Hyrg guessed.

"Hmm..." Galileo's eyes shifted away from the boy. "You could say that..." His eyes went back to the picture and he continued his explanation. "Anyway, once coming upon this realization, a group of heroes set forth to vanquish the twelve beings. This was no easy task given the many different terrains and monsters they had to go through. In spite of all this, it still wasn't enough. They were a strong set of warriors, strong enough to challenge the beings and live, but not strong enough to take them away for good. Instead, various curses were laid on each of them, robbing them of their power, banishing them to the darkness, ensuring the world would be safe from them..." The next page showed a picture of a tomb bearing the image of the hideous, crystal-like creature Hyrg had seen earlier. "...But not for long..." Hyrg opened his eyes even more. Galileo flipped and showed him a photo of their planet taken from space. Hyrg found its many swirls of blue, brown, and white beautiful. It was like a giant marble. "The world rejoiced and Trondaga had been recorded in the history books. The beings that plagued it came to be known as the Twelve Gods of Chaos and the people who stopped them came to be known as the Death Sickles. Knowing they were not safe forever, the lot of them formed an organization away from the rest of the world, and began their many years of training and enlightenment." At last, Galileo closed the book up and faced Hyrg. "As for you, Hyrg, your training and enlightenment begins now. Now that you have been enlightened, you now know why the Twelve Gods of Chaos must be stopped at all costs." Galileo picked the book up off the table and placed it beneath his arm like before. "You possess knowledge now," he said, beginning to walk on back to where he found the book. "Now all you need is wisdom..."

Watching the wolf walk away, Hyrg couldn't help but think to himself. _So that's what's going on,_ he thought. _Well...it sounds pretty serious. Sounds like SOMEONE's gotta take care of it..._ The boy watched as Galileo slid the book back into its rightful place on the shelf. Hyrg frowned. _But why does it have to be me?!_ he mentally protested. He then softened his facial expression a little, taking on a more somber tone. _It's too much,_ he thought. _Maybe I should just-_

"-Hyrg!"

The boy snapped out of his daze. "Coming!" he replied. He ran after Galileo, catching up with him. The two of them began to walk out of the library.

_Maybe I should just wait a while. I don't have an answer NOW, that's for sure..._

* * *

Fresh air at last. The four of Annabyss, Tessa, and the Kamenstein Bros. were finally out of that deep, dark cave. Annabyss could revert back to her normal self and lead the group onward. This time, they were on a vast stetch of land that basically just looked like one big, flat rock. Nothing would fall from the sky and hit them here.

Annabyss took them to the edge of this place where the foamy edges of the sea were crashing, looking as though they were trying to demolish the canyon itself. The quartet stopped and looked at this endless stretch of spiky water. The stench of salt was in the air and seagulls were flying over their heads. Such a serene place was a nice change for the group, but it didn't make them any closer to their goal.

"Was jetzt, Madame?" the brothers asked.

"Well," Annabyss said, "although I'll just be using up Manajus, it looks as though I'll have to carry you all to Uaurpe."

"How?" Tessa said. To answer this, the woman walked even closer to the edge. She knelt down and threw herself into the water. SPLASH!! Tessa gasped, but Wario and Waluigi signaled for her to stay back. The three-some watched the waters that Annabyss had disappeared into until the gigantic, darkly-colored head of a Nep-Enut emerged. Without hesitation, Wario and Waluigi hopped on top. Soon afterwards, Tessa got on as well. Once all three were aboard, the Nep-Enut started gliding across the sea, and the journey to Uaurpe could at last continue.

_We'll get there soon enough,_ Annabyss thought. With that, the journey carried on...

* * *

Chogun and Davey found themselves wandering through the woods once again. The temple was far behind them, but thoughts of their next move were close by.

"We're on our own now, you know," Chogun said. "We've got to figure out what we're gonna do next."

"What can we do?" Davey said. "We might as well just head on back to the village and see what those Goombas have on them."

"Good idea," Chogun said. "Surely, there are folks there more reliable than the ones WE were hanging out with..."

"Yeah..." Davey agreed.

_I was getting pretty sick of that Big Guy anyway,_ Davey thought. _Who knows... Maybe we'll meet again some day..._

* * *

Meanwhile, Sackle and Crookie were still in that Giga Mole of theirs. While Crookie was doing most of the work, pushing buttons and tugging on levers and whatnot in order to make the robot move through the ground, all Sackle did was sit back with his eyes closed. Then they began to twitch and he slowly opened them back up.

"Hey, Crookie!" the boss asked. "How much longer 'til we get there, eh?"

The apprentice looked up at the green screen and saw that they were merely a few lines away from the massive clover that they sought. "Just a little further, boss!" said the yellow-capped thief.

"It better be," Sackle said, closing his eyes again, "'cause I'm startin' to get mighty sick of this..." Then things were quiet again. All that could be heard was the mechanics of this machine as it clawed through the rock. Perhaps it wouldn't be too long...

* * *

As for Big Guy and Laser Snifit, those two were on a beach on the other side of Kariboo Island. The muscular 8-Bit was standing on the sands with his strong arms folded. His grey companion just stood back looking perplexed.

"Big Guy," he said, "what are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for Dino Splash to come!" the large teammate replied. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"But..." Snifit protested. "You said Dino Splash only comes every Wednesday night. This is Friday afternoon."

Big Guy took a few seconds to respond. "I knew that," he finally said.

"Then what are you doing??" Laser Snifit said, a bit exasperatedly.

Big Guy then began to do some stretches. "I'm gettin' ready for the swim."

"What?" Laser Snifit asked.

"How else do you expect us to get there?" Big Guy reasoned. His lab-coat-donning partner shook his head. After a while, Big Guy was finished stretching. He crouched down and held his palms out behind him. "Come on, now," he said.

"What?" the other guy said again.

"Piggy-back ride, Snifit! Come on!" the massive 8-Bit said enthusiasticly. His less motivated companion sighed and walked up to the bodybuilder. He hopped onto his hands and used them to jump onto his back. He wrapped his arms around his neck, but couldn't hold his hands as even his neck was too muscular, so he just hung there the best he could. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Alright!" Big Guy did a few last-minute stretches for his arms, and then he ran into the water. Gradually, the liquid engulfed him as his feet ran across mushy, brown sand down below. Once he could feel the cold clamminess up to his shoulders, he kicked off the ground and began to float as though there were no gravity, remaining careful to keep his head and Laser Snifit above. Then his arms started taking turns lashing out as his feet kicked the water behind him. Soon, the big man was propelling himself forward and his little cohort was just enjoying the ride.

_I've got to start being more competent,_ he thought to himself. _I may have failed Chogun and Davey, but Robin Hifit, Small Fry, Crystal Guy, and Grey Guy are another story._ Big Guy tried squinting to see if their next destination was getting any closer. _If I remember correctly, those guys were last seen on Bobbus Island._ Big Guy suddenly started swimming harder, breaking into a sweat in the process. _Hold on, guys,_ he thought, _the Shy Gang will be back in business in no time!..._


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**  
Everyone was having a good time. The sunlight through the shimmering stained glass windows and the glowing chandeliers were more than enough to brighten the days of the various couples below, all of them dancing across the ballroom floor to the music of the orchestra. All the while, the king and queen of Mario Land were sitting in their respective thrones with their children on their laps. The father had Mario and the mother had Luigi.

"It's great to be back, isn't it, dear?" the mother said.

"Yes, it is," her husband agreed. "What better way is there to celebrate Mario and Luigi's births than to throw a party?" In response, the royal woman merely smiled and closed her eyes. The two parents continued to bask in the warm-hearted radiance of the get-together...

Meanwhile, right next to the stage that the orchestra was performing on top of, two men in tuxedoes were busy talking to eachother. One of them was kind of short and stocky, and the other was a little taller and more muscular. The two of them had their swerving brown hair slicked back and their mustaches were as stylish as ever. The shorter one had an especially curly mustache and the taller one had a mustache that was basically just two big, loopy, black tufts coming out of his large, sharp nose. As for the other guy, his nose was more bulbous. Comically, it protuded from his face like a doornob, much unlike his wide blue eyes. However, the other man's eyes couldn't be seen as he had just slipped a devious-looking pair of shades over them.

"Like my new shades, Guido?" the one man said to the other in a cocky, relatively deep voice.

"Yes, sir," said the man named Guido. "Much better than the ones that Dr. Kamenstein swiped from you."

"You don't like my old shades?!" the taller man blurted. The other one backed up a little.

"Well, um, it's not that, necessarily..." he stammered.

"I liked my old shades," the stronger man said, "but that bastard, Kamenstein, took 'em from me. Can't that guy take a joke?!" He then turned and got a good look at the king and the queen. "Well, it's his loss," said the man. "I'm running things now." The man dug his hands into his pockets, shook his head, and tisked. "Toys can break, Guido," the man said, looking at the mountain of balls, rocking horses, and stuffed animals next to their royal rulers, "but a song can stick with you..." That being said, the orchestra continued playing, the dancing went on, and the two men waited a while longer...

* * *

Not too far from there, Bowser was busy riding with Kamek in the backseat of his broomstick. One of them was in lower spirits than the other.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"NO."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Rrg..." Kamek grumbled, but then he saw a mighty castle getting closer to them that was built in the middle of a nice moat. In the center of the front of this abode was a massive, shiny, golden coin with an M on it. This was definitely the place. The intelligent Magikoopa let a triumphant smirk slowly creep onto his face.

"Well, Kamek?" Bowser pestered. "Are we-"

"-For the thousandth time, YES!!" Kamek barked.

"Yay!!" Bowser cheered. "You remember the pwan, wight, Kamek?"

Kamek sighed. "Yes, Bowser," he responded.

"Good!" Bowser said. With that cleared up, he sat back and resumed enjoying the ride. Kamek rolled his eyes up and brought them back down. He went back to flying towards their designated area...

* * *

Finally, the orchestra wrapped up their song, the people stopped dancing, and started applauding. The second that died down, another man in a tuxedo walked up to a microphone on the stage. He cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "the king and queen send their thanks for all your thoughtful gifts..." At the sound of this, the crowd turned, looked at the nice couple, and applauded once more upon seeing them waving back and smiling. "We have one more gift, your Highnesses," the man on the stage said, being the center of attention again. "Our dear Foreman Spike will now come up here and sing us a song..." The man stepped aside and walked off the stage backwards, clapping with the audience and facing the shades-wearing foreman as he ascended his way onto the stage, waving to the people. Once the other guy was gone, the foreman grabbed a hold of the mic and the clapping died down.

"I'd like to make this one out to Their Majesties, the king, the queen, and their two delightful little princes," Foreman Spike said. "It's called Mario Land." Foreman Spike whirled around and slammed one index finger forward, pointing to the instrumentalists behind him. The instant he did this, they immediately started playing an upbeat, jazz-type song, complete with trumpets, saxophones, and various string instruments going off with swinging notes. Once their part was over, the foreman took the mic and started singing in that deep voice of his, and with quite a bit of style at that. This time, the guests weren't the only people dancing in the room; the foreman was as well...

_I've been here,__  
__I've been there,__  
__I've been everywhere,__  
__But there's no place__  
__With a smiling face__  
__Quite like...Mario Land..._

_It would seem__  
__It makes me beam.__  
__Everyday here is like a dream.__  
__I'm tellin' you,__  
__I'm never blue,__  
__Not in...Mario Land..._

_But, you know what?__  
__Call me a nut,__  
__But that is nothing when you are here..._

The dance move the foreman paired this up with was one where he pointed to the king and queen and winked. The couple was quite taken by this. The foreman continued singing...

_You make it fair__  
__With special care.__  
__You make it seem like love is in the air.__  
__It's never tragic__  
__With your magic__  
__Cast in...Mario Land..._

_It's a party room,__  
__Flowers bloom,__  
__It becomes one big thing of perfume,__  
__It's extra nice__  
__With that special spice__  
__Of you in...Mario Land..._

_But that's all;__  
__We have a ball__  
__Only truly when you are here..._

The two descendants of royalty felt flattered by each word. This whole party was in no way a huge mistake. There wasn't a single soul in the room that wasn't dancing or having a good time. Little did they suspect that two big surprises were headed their way...

_Surely, by far,__  
__It's like a star;__  
__It shines like the sun wherever you are.__  
__It's quite sublime__  
__At any time.__  
__That there is...Mario Land..._

_It's number one,__  
__We're having fun,__  
__Especially when you are here..._

At that point, it was just dancing for Foreman Spike. The rest was left up to the band behind him. They played their hearts out, making the already uplifting mood of the song swing even more. Once its escalation was at its peak, Spike took it from there...

_It's not a jest.__  
__This place is the best.__  
__Give me that good old,__  
__Nice old, classic old,__  
__Unforgettable,__  
__Absolutely incredible,__  
__Reliable,__  
__Totally undeniable,__  
__Mario Land..._

Then Spike and the band finally went for the big finish...

_Especially when__  
__Yooou arrre heeere..._

The band rang out one last note and wrapped up the song. Spike took a bow, the dancing stopped, and the audience let loose another round of applause. Waving to everyone, the foreman walked off the stage as though he were the best thing in the world, and the man that was on it previously walked back on, clapping with the audience. Once the mic was back in his hand, he got to talking again.

"I'm telling you, that Foreman Spike is a miracle-worker!" he said. Everyone in the room agreed whole-heartedly. The man got to talking some more. "Surely, that was the best gift of them all..." The crowd went into a fit of murmuring various agreements, the king and queen included.

"He's a talented one," said the king.

"I had no idea we were missed so much!" said his wife. Praise was in the air. Indeed, Foreman Spike's performance was a success. In spite of this, two things continued flying towards the castle...

* * *

Beneath the sea, Kammelina and Kammeo were still floating around in those bubbles of theirs hunting down that monstrous pig they wanted. While Kammelina was remaining the alert one, Kammeo looked as though she were about to collapse.

"Sister," she rasped, "I don't think it's even worth it. Let's go back."

"NO!!" the elder spazzed. "We've come too far! We must keep going!!"

"But we know where our cottage is, whereas the whereabouts of that pig are completely unknown to us! Please, sister?" the younger one reasoned. At the sound of this, Kammelina stopped her broomstick and turned to face her sibling. She stopped as well.

"Let me explain to you something, Kammeo," she said. "Somewhere out there, the enemy is up to no good. We have to stop them before it's too late! Now we can either continue hunting that pig down and do something about it, or go home and hate ourselves for the rest of our lives!!"

"As if we don't already hate-"

"-Now you listen to me!! I-" Kammelina interrupted herself soon after interrupting her sister. With a clawed finger pointing upward, she suddenly looked down and saw something rather eye-catching. She gasped. "Look, dear sister!" she said. She swooped down on her broomstick, grabbed the thing, pulled it into her bubble, and held it in front of her face. "Victory at last!!" she squealed.

Kammeo wasn't impressed. She raised an eyebrow at the other Magikoopa. "Another broken bottle?" she exclaimed.

"We're on the right track, sister," Kammelina stated. She turned her head and pointed. "And look! Another one!" Unquestionably, there was another discarded bottle on the seafloor.

"Hm?" Kammeo said.

"A trail, sister! We must be getting closer!" Kammelina said excitedly. The witch soon began to float along on her broomstick, following the newly discovered path of broken bottles, although at a faster rate than usual. Kammeo hesitated before returning to following.

"Hoy..." she breathed. The hunt resumed. This time, however, it looked as though they were getting somewhere...

* * *

FFWWIISSHH!! A big cloud of steam burst forth from the pile of coals, and began to swallow the room up in a thin, white layer of fog. With that out of the way, Gorroh set down the ladel and sat back, enjoying the nice, hot moisture of the air soaking into his scales. Both he and Doppel were quite enjoying themselves while sitting around in the sauna of Monet's Mansion. The two of them had towels wrapped around their waists, and were evidently feeling the effects of all this. Gorroh's hair was lying flat with wetness across his scalp, and Doppel's four horns were looking a little on the droopy side.

"My goodness, Doppel," Gorroh said, "you just have everything in this mansion of yours, don't you?"

"J-J-Just about..." Doppel stuttered. Gorroh looked over at him, eying him strangely. The ghostly man was shivering and rubbing his arms for warmth.

"Doppel," Gorroh asked, "is something the matter? It's steaming hot in here and your shivering up a storm!"

"It's-s-s nothing," Doppel said.

Gorroh wasn't convinced. He scratched his chin with his claw and looked skeptically at the artistic man. "You sure?" he said.

"I'm s-s-sure," Doppel said, continuing to shiver and rub himself.

"Hm," Gorroh replied. "If you say so..." The Koopa King shrugged it off and continued to enjoy himself. It was a nice sauna, afterall.

_He's been acting strangely ever since we got here,_ Gorroh thought. _Well, no use worrying about it I suppose...or is it?..._ FFWWISSHHH...

* * *

Following the trail was uneventful at best. Kammelina and Kammeo stuck to it as faithfully as ever. One of them had her hopes up while the other one was grouchy with doubt. Finally, after about the zillionth broken bottle, they found something.

"Behold, sister!" Kammelina said. "The cave of the swine!" There was every bit of truth to what she said. Undoubtedly, there was, right in front of them, a tremendous hole in the stone wall of the ocean floor. Victory was nearby.

"Well," Kammeo huffed, "looks like you're not as incompetent as I thought, sister."

"Silence!" her sibling spat. "We go in!"

Kammeo rolled her eyes. The elder sister hovered into the cave and soon disappeared into its darkness. The younger one was close behind her. Once nothing but pitch black was all around them and a circle of watery illumination was right behind them, one of the two witches raised her wand, conjured up some magical energy, and FWOOSH! The jewel of the wand became a makeshift, albeit surprisingly bright flashlight.

The duo began to scan the vicinity with this cone of light as they trekked onward. Nothing here...nothing there...but wait! What was that? Kammeo stopped her wand's beam of light on a downed crate lying on the floor of this place. Through its open roof, the sisters could see that, lined inside of it, were rows of bottles with a red substance inside them. Looking inquisitive, the elder hovered down to this crate, and got close enough to make this thing start sharing her bubble, although the bottles were still coated in various little droplets of seawater. Not caring, the blonde-haired Magikoopa wrapped one clawed hand around one of these damp bottles and pulled it up to her spectacles. She rotated it around until she could see letters engraved onto it.

"'Gadd Science Inc.,'" she read aloud, "'Red Essence'?"

Kammeo went wide-eyed. "That's why we couldn't hurt that blasted pig!!" she pointed out. "But...how could a creature at the bottom of the sea get a hold of something like this?"

"GRRRrrr..." Their heads bolted up. The water around them vibrated with the sound of bloodthirsty growling. The two witches turned, looked at eachother, stared, and nodded. They then sped off on their broomsticks to battle...

* * *

Once off the stage, the foreman was greeted by his sidekick, Guido, yet again. "That was wonderful, sir! You blew everyone away!" he said excitedly.

"Yup. I'm a work of art, aint I?" said the foreman.

"No doubt about it," Guido concurred. "Man," he added, "I'd like to see someone top THAT..."

The shorter man's timing couldn't have been more impeccable. As though in response, at that very moment, when things couldn't possibly have gone wrong, CRRAASSHHH!!! The stained glass window was history. All eyes pointed to it as gasps and shrieks of shock accompanied this maneuver. Out in the open, flying around on a broomstick, were a Magikoopa and some little punk Koopa Kid. With a very unsettling air surrounding them, the duo floated down to the middle of the room, where the people stepped away from them, allowing them to hop off the broomstick and start looking at everyone straight in the eye. The king and queen were glaring at this unexpected duo extra fervently. Bowser got a kick out of how shocked and confused these people all were, but Kamek was more interested in the two princes up there. Mario and Luigi gulped at the sight of a familiar enemy.

The Magikoopa put away his broomstick. "I suppose you're all wondering why we're here," Kamek said loud enough to make sure everyone could hear him. "I shall tell you," Kamek said. He placed a scaly hand against his chest. "I am Kamek, servant of the Koopa Klan, and this is our future leader, Bowser." The Magikoopa gestured to the Koopaling who just folded his little arms and smirked at the crowd. "I had a vision a little while ago," Kamek explained. "I saw two Marios bringing about the downfall of the Koopa Klan. Naturally, I wouldn't want something like that to happen, so you know what I did?" Noone in the audience responded to this. "I kidnapped them." This was a different matter. Everyone gasped in utter shock. They all started pointing and whispering amongst themselves.

A servant snuck up beside the king. "Shall I get the guards, sir?" he said. The king waved him down.

"No, let's hear him out." The king was being surprisingly patient in spite of the anger that showed in his face. His wife looked equally steamed. Aware of all this, Kamek continued.

"Mario and Luigi... Their disappearance can be explained by me. I came here to do it again..." This time, people's outbursts were even more prominent. The queen gasped and started pressing Luigi against her chest even tighter. Some of the audience-members even started scowling and shaking fists at the Magikoopa. Kamek lifted a hand to get them to quiet down. "Of course, we CAN come to peaceful terms," he reasoned. "Name your price, your Majesty. You shall have it."

The king grimaced. Noone in the room could ignore the fury he had just developed. "What kind of fool do you take me for?" he said. He grabbed Mario beneath his tiny shoulders and stood up. He handed the child over to his spouse so she was holding two babies. "The Koopa Klan has a long record of crimes, felonies, and acts of deceit committed all over the world. You kidnap our children, you break our beautiful, priceless stained glass window, and now this. What makes you think we're going to trust you?"

The crowd started glaring even more harshly at the Magikoopa. Kamek frowned. _Why did I listen to that little brat?_ he thought, glancing over at the young Koopa, who was still folding his arms and looking arrogantly at all the people, but less so than before.

"We can fix that," Kamek said. "You can have anything you want. Gold, oil, weapons, half of the Koopa Kingdom... Anything, your Highness. Just name it."

The king squinted his eyes at the blue-garbed man and placed his fists against his hips. "Is that all you Koopas ever think about?" he said. "Money and power?" Kamek shifted his eyes left and right, feeling people's cold, icy stares going through him. This wasn't going well. "Admit it: you people can't govern. Now get out of my sight lest you want security to escort you out."

Bowser wasn't smiling anymore. Even he could tell how this had gone. Still with the room scowling at him, Kamek breathed a sigh. "Very well then," he said. "Your Highness, you leave me no choice..." Kamek raised his wand into the air. Everyone gasped and started to back away upon seeing its red jewel beginning to glow.

"We've got a psycho," Foreman Spike said, drawing his sledgehammer cautiously.

"Looks like it, sir," Guido agreed, pulling out a smaller hammer.

Lots of attention was drawn to Kamek's wand. Still, it was powering up. The king definitely couldn't stop glaring at it. As Kamek's wand charged, the king slowly started raising his left hand.

_I'll show you who can't govern..._ Kamek thought grimly. Then... FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!! Various spirals of circles, squares, and triangles started bursting from his wand, each of them aimed at something different. The people all started shrieking and ducking. This seemed to work seeing how the bursts of magic Kamek had sent upon them merely sailed past their heads. Perplexed, they looked up, wondering if it was over. Then all of a sudden, WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP! Hors d'oeuvres, instruments, and even plants had been transformed. Thwimps started hopping all over the place, knocking things over, and causing all kinds of ruckus. Then the people started running and screaming. Kamek watched all this passively. He then turned and looked at the king. The royal man looked horrified. A bead of sweat formed on his temple.

"That's not all..." Kamek growled. He pointed his wand upward, made it glow, and fired a spell at the chandelier. FWOOSH!! The work of art became a humungous Thwomp. Those who weren't too busy being pestered by Thwimps had the time to look up and see what had happened. They were stunned. The Thwomp looked down at them, grinned maliciously, clenched its teeth, and came crashing down. WHAM!!! The stone beast blew a ring of destruction into the ballroom floor, and tiles and guests alike went flying. This was mayhem at its finest.

The king's face burned red with hatred. He threw his left arm into the air. "GUARDS!!!" he bellowed. Soon, assorted mustachioed soldiers with uniforms and hammers started piling into the room. The whole lot of them stood by either side of the upraised floor where the thrones were.

"All present and reporting for duty, sir!" yelled one of them.

The king placed his hands against his hips and looked at two of these soldiers. "Aberto, Brando," he said, "take the queen and the princes to the queen's room. Let noone in."

"Yes, sir!" said the two men, saluting their king and running up to the queen, Mario, and Luigi. The queen held on tightly to her two children as she was was led away by these two guards. Then it was just the king and the others.

"As for the rest of you," he said. "Take care of those Thwimps and the intruders!"

"YES, SIR!!" said the whole lot of them. The king watched gravely as they then ran off and soon became a part of the melee...

Foreman Spike and Guido were way ahead of them. All around them, they were socking Thwimps to the moon with heavy blows from their hammers. It was as though baseball had just been taken to the next level.

"Easy, huh, sir?" Guido commented after thwacking another Thwimp. The foreman pounded another one into the ground with a downward maneuver from his hammer. He held up his weapon and looked around at all the madness.

"Ehh," he exclaimed, "it's easy alright." The muscular man suddenly turned around and saw another Thwimp flying right towards him. WHACK!! By smacking that thing horizontally, the foreman was able to send it soaring in the opposite direction. WHACK! His sidekick got another one. "Too easy, if you know what I mean," the bigger man added.

"Hm," Guido grunted.

"URPHH!!!" The duo turned their heads and saw that the Thwomp Kamek made earlier had just slammed into the ground, blasting a few of the castle's soldiers away in the process. It looked as though backup was going to need backup.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Foreman Spike asked.

"Yes, sir," Guido agreed, holding his hammer up once more.

"Alright," Spike added. "Let's do it!!" With an agreement having been reached, the two mustachioed warriors ran off to carry the fight even further...

In a different part of the ballroom, a ring of soldiers were surrounding Bowser, all of them with their sledgehammers ready. Bowser just looked around and glared at them. He suddenly started waving towards himself with one monstrous hand. "Come on, you dummy-heads!!" he taunted. "Let's do this!" Not taking the insult nicely, the soldiers charged and the fight began. WHUMP! BAM! WHACK! They all had their hammers raised, but Bowser could see through this. He swung out a leg and tripped one, then flew up and socked one of them squarely in the jaw, and kicked another one in the head while he was still airborne. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Bowser used the rest of their heads as a makeshift floor as he ran across the lot of them, kicking them in the process. Once he reached the edge, he leapt off, landed on his feet and turned around. He could see the mob was in a state of confusion. They were all swinging their hammers in vain.

_Ha! What nincompoops,_ Bowser commented. He then took a deep breath, gathered a whole bunch of heat into his throat, bent forward, and released it. FFOOOOMMM!! Bowser bathed them with a wave of his fire breath. He puffed out a cloud of smoke, closed his mouth, and smirked. The soldiers were all lying on the floor, burnt to a crisp. _Piece of cake,_ he thought. He looked around and saw that some of the other troops were struggling to deal with the Thwimps. He decided those little creatures weren't enough on their own. He rubbed his claws together mischievously and ran off to deal more damage...

"Stand back, men!!" yelled one of the troops. "It's going to come down again!!" This guy along with a bunch of other Marios were all poised and ready to give attacking the Thwomp another go. They glared upward at it as it rose into the air, all of them with killing intent on the brain. Finally it happened. The Thwomp started plummeting downwards and the troops were bracing themselves for the impact.

Then, out of nowhere, Foreman Spike and Guido ran forward. Everyone was shocked by their sudden appearance. Right when the Thwomp was split-seconds from slamming into the ground, the two mustachioed guys leapt up, and WHAMM!! Not only did the Thwomp collide with the ground once again, but also Foreman Spike and Guido had slammed their respective weapons right into the beast's eyes. The creature roared in pain as they jumped back and started admiring their work. The other troops seemed to be equally impressed. However, the mood changed once, growling in frustration, the monster started leaping into the air and pounding into the ground repeatedly. More panic started to sweep the room.

_This is gonna be tougher than I thought,_ Foreman Spike thought in pessimism. He, Guido, and the other Marios started frowning, clutching at their hammers, wondering what to do next...

Bowser, on the other hand, wasn't at a loss. To aid the Thwimps, he was tripping feet, punching stomachs, and burning hides left and right. After punching one guy in the face, he turned around and noticed a guy about to swing his hammer at one of the Thwimps. He ran up behind him, dove to the ground, and grabbed a hold of his ankles. The guy shrieked and fell flat on his face. His hammer flew from his grasp, and the Thwimp jumped up and pounded his head even deeper into the ground. After that the Thwimp started pounding its way off to do more harm. Bowser got off the ground and clenched his fists excitedly. _This is fun!!_ he thought sadistically. Then the Koopaling ran off to make the situation even worse...

The king watched all this in horror. Sweat began to drip down his face as he observed what was going on. Here, Thwimps were thrashing about, there, his soldiers were busy trying to handle a massive Thwomp jumping around madly, and in the other direction, that blasted Koopa Kid was terrorizing the vicinity. Not only that, but he could see that all the guests had run for their lives. Not a single one stayed behind. He prayed nothing would make this dreadful occurance sink any lower. That was when he noticed that blue Magikoopa walking up the stairs of the platform towards him. The king scowled at the unwelcome visitor as he came closer and closer. Then the Magikoopa stopped, stared at the king, and began to speak.

"This is but a small portion of what we Koopas are capable of," Kamek said. "We can make your entire country suffer." The king suddenly imagined a bunch of Koopatrols, Goombas, and other Magikoopas invading the land he worked so hard to protect. There was blood and mayhem everywhere, even in the most innocent of villages. He clenched his gloved fists and made them tremble as his fingers dug into his palms. Kamek went on. "Now tell me," he said, "where are those babies?"

The king stared hard into the Magikoopa's eyes. "I'll never tell you," he growled.

"You'll only endanger your country with that attitude," Kamek threatened. "Now tell me," he added more firmly, "where are they?"

"I told you, I'll never tell!!" the king spat back.

"Never you say?" Kamek mused, tapping a claw against his chin. He remembered something he read in a book once and strummed his fingers against his wand. He lifted it up and took his hand down from his face, allowing its palm to point towards the royal man. "We'll see about that..." The king began to watch cautiously and a little bit curiously as the Magikoopa began to wave the wand and the free hand around. No doubt, this intruder was up to something...

Gradually, the entire ballroom was becoming more and more of a wreck. There was just no controlling that blinded Thwomp! The troops of the castle tried in vain to chase it down, but to no avail. This whole thing wasn't starting to look any prettier.

"What should we do now, sir?" Guido asked.

"Hmm..." the foreman hummed. "We split that thing right down the middle," he suggested, watching it commit more destruction. "All we need is to get on top of it..."

"I see..."

Away from those people, Bowser was still acting like a menace. Within seconds, more Marios had fallen victim to this little tyrant and the Thwimps he was assisting. The amount of wounded soldiers lying on the floor clutching at their sore spots was increasing, and Bowser had his own two fists to thank. Standing around, smirking at his accomplishments, Bowser wondered what to do next. Then he saw started to hear some heavy footsteps. Thinking quickly, he turned around and saw a rather deranged Mario stampeding towards him with his hammer up in the air. Bowser scoffed, ran forward, thrust his fist up and BAM!! The guy released his hold of his hammer, went sprawling, and started clutching at his groin. Another job well done.

_These guys are losers!_ Bowser thought, standing with his hands against his hips. _Where're the REAL tough guys?!_ Without even having that answered, Bowser just ran off to serve more pain...

Foreman Spike and Guido watched the Thwomp thrash about a little while longer. After a few more bounces and failed attempts by the other troops to attack it, they could tell it was starting to turn in a different direction. More specifically, it was headed towards them.

"Alright, Guido, you remember the plan?" the foreman asked.

"Yes, sir!" Guido responded.

"Alright," Foreman Spike said, watching the Thwomp getting closer. "It's show time!!" Carrying out the plan, Guido got in front of his superior, knelt down, and held out the palms of his hands. Foreman Spike placed one foot in each, and let Guido make the next move. The sidekick thrust himself and his palms up, even under the weight of the muscular man. At the peak of this, Foreman Spike used the extra lift to jump extra high up into the air. He grabbed a hold of one of the many curvy, golden hooks of the one chandelier that remained, and started making it swing back and forth. He saw the Thwomp coming, and he got his timing together. Once the chandelier swung forward, Foreman Spike leapt off of it, pulled out his hammer, and came speeding down towards the Thwomp with his weapon pointing at the middle of its flat top.

In the middle of pummeling more unworthy opponents, Bowser and pretty much everyone else in the room heard a loud noise... CRACKK!! Foreman Spike drove his hammer deep into the center of the top of the stone creature, and jumped off of it. He landed on his side and rolled to safety. He got up just when the other Marios along with Bowser were busy staring at the results of this.

The Thwomp stopped moving. It stood there in the middle of the ballroom with an extremely agonized look on its face. Then it happened. CRICK. The spot where Foreman Spike nailed it suddenly turned into a small spider web of cracks. Slowly it spread, gradually consuming the Thwomp's rock-hard body. Then BBOOOMMM!! The entire monstrosity split in two. The two halves fell down, letting clouds of dust escape from them. Both of them had half of a horrified facial expression on them. Foreman Spike, Guido, and the rest of the soldiers all cheered to this.

"Now that that's been taken care of," Foreman Spike said to Guido with his arms folded, "there's just one more matter to attend to..."

"Yes, sir," Guido concurred, as usual. The duo turned around and started heading for their next victim. Bowser watched the foreman run by in pure fascination.

_He's the one,_ the young Koopa thought. _He's the one I want!_ Bowser punched another Mario flying at him in the face, and started chasing after the mustachioed duo...

* * *

A short amount of hovering was all they needed. In moments, the two witches, Kammelina and Kammeo, were finally back in the presence of their prize. Kammeo shown her light onto the pig's face, revealing its unsightly mug, complete with its big, lower lip, the tusks sticking out of its mouth, its ugly snout, and its glaring eyes.

"Alright," Kammeo said. "Time to get its blood and complete our journey!!" She pointed her wand above the aquatic pig and fired. POW!! The light that shown from her magical weapon shot off like a firework and turned into a glowing ball of white light, illuminating the cave, thus providing the two female Magikoopas with the sight they needed to combat this thing.

"Good thinking, sister!!" Kammelina said. She saw the monstrous pig start to lick its lips once more. "Hee hee," she chortled. "Not this time, my little piggy..." The witch reached into the folds of her robes, but found nothing. Suddenly frantic, she started patting around herself in order to find what she was looking for. Then it hit her. "DRAT!!" she blurted. "I forgot! That pig ate it!!" Kammeo looked at her sister disapprovingly. The elder sibling hovered away and started watching from a distance. "You're on your own, sister!!" she called.

Kammeo grumbled. "Whatever you say," she exclaimed. She looked up and became wide-eyed. "EEK!!" She hovered out of the way, seeing the pig was rushing towards her with its maw open. SMAASHH!! The thing plowed the side of its head into the the cave wall, causing the whole place to shake. It backed away from what it ran into, shook its head and started swimming back towards Kammeo. "You're not gettin' me!!" she proclaimed, raising her wand up. The jewel glowed and she swung it forward. ZING!! She fired a three-some of symbols at the space between the pig's eyes, but they just splattered harmlessly against it. The pig continued coming towards her, about to take a bite. "NO!!" she yelled.

After that, the Magikoopa began to hover around the pig, turning this confrontation into a chase scene. ZING! ZING! ZING! She fired repeatedly at the beast, but all of them were as useful as the first attack was. She gulped, dove out of the way, and got the monster to slam into the wall again. SMAASHH!!

"I don't believe this," she puffed. "It's still invincible!!" As she was saying this, the humungous pig was floating around slowly with its eyes rolling around in its head.

"COME ON, YOU DINGUS!! FIGURE IT OUT!!" Kammelina shouted. Kammeo scowled at her sister, as did the pig. After getting its act together, it started swimming towards the older of the two Magikoopas. "Oh, heavens, NO!" the blonde-haired witch flipped, flailing her arms like crazy. The swine picked up the pace, forcing the Magikoopa to turn around and start speeding off into the cave for her life.

"FEAR NOT, SIS, I'LL SAVE YOU!!!" Kammeo shrieked. Soon, this other witch had become a part of the chase as well.

Kammelina raced down and down the stone hallway of this cave. As she did so, the light got dimmer, so there was less and less to show her where she was going. In a few seconds, all was pitch black again, and a claw of terror began to wrap itself around the witch's body. "This isn't good," she breathed, looking around in desperation. Then she began to hear some heavy snarling. She turned her head in the direction of where it came. She could suddenly feel the water around her becoming very warm.

_One of us is going to die very soon,_ the sorceress thought morbidly.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY-"

-CHOMP! Kammeo was right behind the pig, but apparently had come so far in vain. Her yelling had been interrupted the instant the pig had ensnared her sister in its huge mouth and swallowed. She stopped hovering and could feel her heart stop. Then the pig swooped around and started staring at her. She swallowed, forcing a huge lump down her throat. The pig began to swim towards her, and she started backing up on her broomstick, pointing a shaking wand at the enemy. ZING! ZING! ZING! Her aim was off. Her bursts of magic just kept colliding into the wall harmlessly. ZING! That last one nicked the pig's ear, but it still wasn't enough.

"SHOOT!!" she cursed. The younger sibling turned around and started to race away from the monster. This just made the starving creature begin to give chase even harder.

_It can't end here,_ Kammeo thought. _There's got to be something I can do...but what??_ Kammeo drew closer to the light. The cave got brighter and brighter, but she was still at a loss. The pink-haired hag kept wondering and the pig kept pursuing...

* * *

Near the thrones, Kamek seemed to be taking his mischief even further. He had the king watching unblinkingly the rotating movements of the Magikoopa's hand and wand. The king felt as though he were being sucked into a vortex like the one they used to warp back to Mario Land. "That's it, sire," Kamek said in a low voice. "Just relax. Everything's going to be alright. You're feeling comfortable, soothed, devoid of stress, guilt, and pain. Only sweet paradise awaits you..."

Sure enough, the man was obeying this sorceror's commands. He actually did start feeling completely calm and worry-free as though someone were massaging his shoulders. He felt as though he were drifting through seas of clouds. In fact, he had forgotten all about the chaos that was overtaking his ballroom. His eyes closed and Kamek had him where he wanted him.

"Good," Kamek purred. He then lifted his wand up, pointed it at the air above the king's head, and fired. POOF! A triangle, a square, and a circle materialized. The three shapes began to rotate around in the middle of the air as though they were a trio of planets. Kamek's wand remained pointing to them. "Now by the time I reach 'one'," he continued, "you'll tell me exactly where they are..." Kamek made his free hand start holding up three fingers. "Three..." he said, curling his pinky back into his palm. As he said this, the symbols above the king's head grew brighter. "Two..." The middle finger curled in as well and the shapes got brighter. "One..." The final index finger curled in, making the Magikoopa's hand into a fist, and the symbols became completely white. Once this happened, he lowered his wand, pointed it at the king's face, and the shapes exploded into a shower of magical confetti, sprinkling onto the man's shoulders and disappearing. Kamek put his wand and his hand down beside him and moved on with the next part of the spell. "Now tell me," he said, "where are they?"

The king stood still with his eyes closed dreamily. Then he opened them up, revealing a blank, unblinking stare. "The queen's chamber," he said emotionlessly. "It's safe there," he added.

Kamek smirked and put his wand away. "Very good," he said quietly. He made a formation out of the thumb and forefinger of one of his hands as though he were holding an invisible battery. He raised it to his face and...

...WHAP! A brawny hand hidden beneath a white glove grabbed a hold of the Magikoopa's blue-garbed wrist, stopping its movement. Kamek was a bit annoyed, if not confused. The hand harshly spun him around. The next thing Kamek knew, he was face-to-face with an angry-looking man wearing a pair of shades.

"Not so fast, Kamek," Foreman Spike said. He was backed by Guido and a bunch of equally dangerous-looking Mario soldiers. Kamek's expression didn't change in the slightest, however. "I don't know what you're planning," Spike continued, "but it ends here..."

Kamek scoffed. "Does it?" The wizard in blue whipped the thumb and forefinger of his free hand into his mouth and blew. TWWEEEEE!! The foreman jolted at its high-pitched, shrill sound...

WHACK! WHAM! BAM! At this time, the other Marios of the ballroom had managed to fell the rest of the Thwimps once and for all, but once they heard Kamek's whistle, all eyes turned towards the hole in the stained glass window from before, including Bowser's...

"What the-" the Koopaling pondered aloud, even though he cared more about reaching Foreman Spike and challenging him. He stopped running, and directed his eyes to what everyone else seemed to be focused on and could tell that this was the source of a certain noise.

It sounded like mischievous, high-pitched, gremlin-like laughter. This unsettling chortling got louder and louder as everyone watched and listened. Then they could see four specks in the center of where the window had been broken. These four specks flew closer and closer to them, gradually unveiling to their audience what exactly they were.

They were a quartet of little creatures, donned in red robes, with big, ugly, beak-bearing faces poking out. Their eyes hid behind swirly glasses and some rather unsightly teeth were sticking out of their mouths. Aided by the whirling propellors sticking out of their scalps, they flew over the heads of the gawking patrons and stopped above that of Foreman Spike. The instant these creatures did so, they gave their chortling a rest, and Kamek looked up at them.

"To the queen's room, boys," he commanded. "You'll find the babies there." Kamek's Toadies all saluted in unison and zipped off, chuckling as they did so.

Foreman Spike saw where they were going, and growled. He turned back towards their Magikoopa of a leader, still with a death-hold on the wizard's wrist. "We'll settle this later, scumbag," Spike threatened.

"I'll hold you to it," Kamek retorted.

Spike sneered. He turned to his sidekick behind him. "Guido, take care of this guy," he ordered. "I've got to go after those things."

"Yes, sir," the smaller man said.

Spike turned around, and glared one last time at the Magikoopa. Kamek just snorted in response. Spike released him, and ran off, down the steps of the throne's area, and disappeared into one of the two large doorways it was between. Bowser ran after him.

"Wait up, tough guy!!" he called. "I wanna beat you up!!" Once the Koopaling had disappeared, all was left up to the rest of the Marios as well as Kamek, Guido, and the king.

The high-ranking descendent of royalty remained staring emotionlessly while the others did quite the opposite. Kamek's enemies were all scowling at him, getting their hammers ready.

"This is your last chance, sir," Guido said to the blue intruder, pointing his hammer at him, clutching it with both hands. "Call this off and leave us in peace, or prepare to be subdued!"

"Fifty against one," Kamek mused, a small smirk on his face. "Don't think you've got the upper hand..." The sorceror's opponents looked relatively perplexed by this. Kamek smirked a second longer, and suddenly took a leap behind, landing right next to the king. The angry mob of Marios lunged a step forward with their hammers upraised. "STOP!!" Kamek yelled. They did so, but they weren't looking any less angry. They saw Kamek grab the entranced king's left arm with his left hand and yank him to his knees. He whipped out his wand with his other hand and pointed it to the back of the royal man's head. "One step closer, and your king dies..."

Kamek's audience grimaced at him, starting to feel the cruel touch of cold sweat creep up on them. Noone moved a muscle, not even those that were standing by the corpses of the recently downed Thwimps. Guido stared hard at the dangerous Magikoopa. "You wouldn't dare," he slowly elicited.

"Would I?" Kamek replied. He glanced at his adversaries, then leaned a bit closer to the king's left ear. He muttered something into it barely even audible to anyone else in the room. Then he leaned back and returned to looking at the crowd.

"Better do as he says," the king suddenly stated. All eyes turned to him. They noticed, not just the king's monotone, but the strange look in his eyes. They were unsure of what to make of this.

"You see?" Kamek said. "Even your king agrees. Now what say we put those hammers down and back off, hm?"

The mob looked shifty-eyed. Very slowly, they started lowering their weapons, and taking a few steps back. Guido remained standing with his hammer held up, however. He twisted his fingers around it nervously and made his eyes dart. _This isn't looking good,_ the hesitant man thought.

"You, too, short one," Kamek growled to him. At a pace even slower than the others had, he started to do so as well.

_Damn it,_ Guido cursed as he backed up and lowered his weapon. _What do we do? This guy's impossible...and what's with the king?_ He took another look at the high-ranking man's unusual gaze. _I don't like where this is going... Not one bit..._

* * *

Back in the cave, things weren't looking up for Kammeo. The monster that had eaten her sibling was still chasing after her. There was plenty of light for her to see, but little options were at her fingertips. _Is this it? Was it all for nothing?_ she wondered. _Have we lost?_ The pig was beginning to close in on her. It opened up its fanged mouth and picked up the pace. Kammeo's broomstick had failed her. _Perhaps..._ she thought. _Oh, what a world..._ She gritted her teeth, waiting for the inevitable, feeling the beast's hot breath heating the water around her. Soon it would have its prey...

Suddenly, Kammeo could feel the water get cold again. Before she could hit a wall, she spun around on her broomstick and looked down. She could see the aquatic pig writhing in pain, twisting its body this way and that.

_What on-_ she wondered. She watched a bulge in the center of its underbelly start to twitch. She cocked an eyebrow at it, staring carefully. Then, in an explosion of blood and guts, SSPPLOOICHHTT!! Something round and red shot out of that bulge like a bullet. Kammeo dropped her jaw, not sure what was more impressive; the sight of the pig floating upside-down, drifting down to the stone floor of the cave with a big, bloody hole in its stomach, or the fact that the thing that made that hole was none other than her sister. Kammeo stared excitedly at her sibling as the older witch flew up to her, letting blood and other gunky stuff get swept off of her surrounding bubble with the underwater current.

"SISTER!!" Kammeo blurted. "You're alive!! Oh, thank Veyran!!" Kammelina grinned mischievously. Her younger sister looked simultaneously relieved and a bit confused. "But how?" she added.

"I found my wand in there," she said. "And remember that bottle of Red Essence I took?"

"Yeah?" Kammeo responded.

"Well, while I was in that thing's stomach, I drank it and became invincible. With this new power, I used my wand to blast my way out, and NOW look what's in the bottle..." The elder witch reached into the folds of her robes and pulled out that very same bottle and showed it to Kammeo. The younger one looked at its red content, but noticed it was thicker than usual.

"YOU GOT THE BLOOD!!" Kammeo shrieked triumphantly. Kammelina winced at the loud reaction. "Well done, sister! Now we can go home!!"

"Yes," Kammelina said, still with a smile on her face.

"But first, I think we should start stocking up on that Red Essence. It could come in handy," the younger one suggested.

"Good idea," her sister agreed. Leaving the inanimate corpse of the Marinotropolan swine they worked so hard against behind, the two witches began to head on out. Kammeo pointed her wand at the ball of light she made earlier, concentrated, and made it vanish. The total darkness of the cave didn't last long. Once again, Kammeo turned her wand into a makeshift flashlight, but this time, Kammelina did so, too. On their way out, they stopped by the crate from before, gathered all of its bottles, and moved on. This may have been well and good for them, but a mysterious someone outside that very cave had different thoughts on his mind.

"So this is where they disappeared off to," the person considered. "Well, they can't hide in there forever. They've got a man with a mace right out here waiting for them. They can bet their lives on it..."

* * *

"Don't worry, Mario, Luigi... It'll all be over soon..."

Outside the double-doors leading to the queen's chambers, the two Mario guards, Aberto and Brando, were standing with their arms folded, remaining ever alert, constantly on the look-out. The three royal family-members they were designated to protect were safe in that room they were guarding, but something didn't seem quite right.

"This is driving me nuts," Aberto said. "What's going on down there? Are we winning, or not?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Brando replied. "We've got troubles of our own."

"Yeah," the other Mario agreed. "I guess you're-" He stopped himself. Making his eyes move left and right, he said, "Wait a minute... You hear that??"

"Hmm..." Brando started looking around, scratching his chin. "It sounds like...laughing..."

The two guards continued to look about themselves, wondering what the source of this noise was. Before they knew it, it was coming from right over their heads. The two of them looked up and saw the four of Kamek's Toadies staring down at them.

"What the-" Aberto said. "What the heck are those things??"

"I don't know, but they look like trouble," Brando exclaimed. He got his hammer out, looking cautiously at the four little freaks. "You ready?" he said to his partner.

"You bet!" Aberto responded, getting his hammer out as well.

"Alright," Brando stated. "Let's-" ZOOOM!! In the next split-second, the two Marios saw a few blurs of red. "What in-" Brando got out, just as confused as his teammate. Then the two troops gasped, shocked to find out they were holding air. "Hey!! Where did-" The duo looked up. They could see that two of the Toadies were holding their hammers directly above their heads with their feet. "Uh-oh," Brando pointed out.

"Not good," Aberto agreed. BANGG!! The Toadies released their loads, letting them conk their two bystanders right on their craniums. The pair of Marios grunted in pain and dropped unconsciously to the floor as a couple of heaps, like two sacks of patatoes. The Toadies guffawed in their high-pitched voices at what they had accomplished, and regrouped. Together the four of them started slamming into the doors repeatedly with their shoulders as though the lot of them combined formed a crude battering ram of some sort.

BAM. BAM. BAM. Sitting on her gigantic, fanciful bed with Mario and Luigi on her lap, the queen gasped and looked up, pure horror in her eyes. She saw the doors pulsating like a heart gone mad. Each loud, pounding sound resulted in more splinters and pieces of wood flying off. She held her two children even tighter against her, turning pale and beginning to whimper. Little did any of them know that two people were running up the stairs as fast as they could...

WHAMM!! The two doors burst open, revealing two knocked-out soldiers. Four strange creatures floated in, all of them giggling demonically. The queen made a hoarse gasping sound at the sight. They began to hover in her direction. The queen jumped off of her bed, and began to walk around it, facing these things as she tried to get herself and her two children out of range. "NO!!" she shrieked. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!! PLEASE!!"

Unfortunately, the Toadies weren't a bunch to obey orders like these. In one fell swoop, ZOOOM!! The queen had seen red, and her babies were gone. She tilted her head upward and saw the two of them had been sent into a fit of tears upon being captured by this fiendish quartet. They all laughed at the queen's horrified facial expression.

"NOO!! GIVE THEM BACK!!!" she wailed. The four Toadies just laughed some more, and turned around. They headed for the door, and the queen started to run towards them in desperation. Just then, a muscular man wearing a tuxedo skidded his way in front of the two downed Marios and the busted doors. The Toadies stopped and the queen looked relieved by the appearance of this man. He looked up, saw the Toadies as well as their kidnappees, and whipped out his hammer.

"Alright, you little freaks, unhand the babies!!" Foreman Spike demanded.

The four little red monsters just stared at the man and laughed. Then they began to hover on out of the room. The queen's eyes started misting over and the foreman turned around to face where the enemies had flown off to.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!!" he yelled. He turned around and saw that the queen had slumped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Foreman Spike frowned, jumped over Aberto and Brando's bodies, and jogged up to her. He put a hand on her shoulder, feeling her body shaking between sobs. "Don't worry, your Highness," he reassured, "I'll get them back. I promise."

The queen sniffed, wiped a tear from her eye, looked at the man, and said, "Thank you." Foreman Spike nodded. He turned to face the door and started running out of it. He jumped over Aberto and Brando again and turned to the right.

The queen saw him disappear. Then she heard an, "AAUUGGHH!!" and a THUD. Widening her puffy eyes, she got up off the floor and ran to see what the commotion was. Peering around the doors, she was surprised to see the foreman had been tripped by that Koopaling from before. Spike lay on the ground, muttering foul things beneath his breath.

"Come on, you, let's fight!!" Bowser taunted, putting his fists up.

Spike pushed himself up and looked at the young Koopa. "Forget it, kid!! I've got bigger fish to fry!"

"'Bigger fish to fwy'?? What does dat mean?!" Bowser said, uncurling his fists so he could scratch his head. Then he noticed his target was getting away. "HEY!! GET BACK HERE!! I STILL WANNA FIGHT YOU!!"

_What's wong wit dat guy?!_ Bowser thought, preparing to give chase once more. _Am I not good enough for him?!_

The little tyrant began following after the muscular man, but he quickly stopped after a few steps. SHHINNGG!! Hearing a loud noise like that and seeing a white light coming from behind him made the Koopaling hinder his pursuit of the foreman and turn around. He saw a woman in an elegant dress kneeling beside the two unconscious bodies he witnessed earlier. He noticed the hands she had against their heads had something glowing white beneath them and the hair-tie at the base of her ponytail appeared to be shimmering like water reflecting starlight. Bowser watched in great interest. He noticed how once the light beneath the woman's hands died down, the hair-tie stopped shining and became a regular, black garment again. Then he saw the soldiers get off the floor, awake and good as new. "Hmm..." Bowser hummed.

"Are you two alright?" the queen asked.

"Yes, your Highness, thanks to you," Brando said, rubbing his head as Aberto was, even though they weren't hurting anymore.

"Good, because we need all the help we can get," the queen said. Aberto and Brando nodded. Then the three residents of Mario Land got their attention stolen.

"HEY, LADY!!" Bowser yelled to the queen. "That guy won't let me fight him unwess I'm weally stwong, so gimme your hair-tie!!"

The queen along with Aberto and Brando started looking a little confused and nervous. "Umm..." the queen said.

"I said GIVE IT TO ME!!" the crazy Koopaling demanded, beginning to advance towards the trio.

"Oh, dear," the queen muttered.

"Don't worry, your highness. We've got'im," Aberto said, grabbing his hammer that fell earlier. Brando did the same. The two Marios rushed forward at the stampeding Koopaling and swung their hammers at his head. WHUMP! Bowser caught both with his scaly hands.

"Oh, wise guys, eh?" he sneered. Mustering up what strength he could, Bowser shoved the hammers he had caught out of his way, causing the Marios holding them to fall back and land back-first on the floor. The queen looked shocked at this turn of events. Bowser continued to run forward. "WHOA!!" Just in time, Brando caught Bowser's right leg in his right hand, causing the little brat to fall flat on his face. "OOF!!" Bowser looked back at Brando in anger. "HEY!! Lemme go, you big oaf!!" The young tyrant began to squirm, attempting to break free from his enemy's grip. He and his adversary exchanged equally ticked looks. Then he saw a shadow being cast over him. He looked up and saw the other one, Aberto, was about to send his hammer down on him. Bowser went wide-eyed. WHAM!! Aberto's hammer demolished the floor, and Brando's hand was clutching nothing. The two Marios remained confused for a second, and then they say saw a big, whirling, spiky, green shell between them. WHAM! WHAM! The thing smacked both of them in the faces like a ping-pong ball, resulting in two unattractive nosebleeds. After that, Bowser was back on his feet, making beckoning movements at the two soldiers with his hands. "Come on!!" Infuriated again, the duo tightened their holds of their hammers and ran forward once more. All the while, the queen just sat back and watched anxiously...

Meanwhile, Foreman Spike was busy running like mad down those stone steps from before. Those four red things were quicker than he anticipated. _This is not looking good,_ he thought. _We could really use a miracle right about now..._

* * *

Helga was sitting in one of the two oversized, cushy chairs in front of Doppel's fireplace. Between the two chairs was a small coffee table of wood with a complicated design coiling around it. The rest of the room was quite large and lined with bookshelves. Very little of it could be seen, actually, for the orange, flickering glow of the fire could only stretch so far. Using such a light, Helga was reading a book entitled, "Curse of the Pyrosphere". After finishing up page 67, Helga pinched the page and began to flip it. That was when the door far behind her opened up and shut. Suddenly distracted by the noise, she turned around and looked behind her. Realizing who it was, she smiled.

"Gorroh, honey! How was the sauna?" she asked her husband.

"Helga, it was heavenly," the Koopa King replied as he moved past the table and sat down in the one vacant chair of the room.

"That's good to hear," Helga commented. She finished fipping the page and resumed reading the particular sentence that was split between the page-turning. She then looked up and noticed a worried look on her spouse's face. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Well," Gorroh said, "it's Doppel. He hasn't been himself lately. First he says he's airsick for no reason, then he inexplicably gets this headache out of nowhere, and just now, in the sauna, he was complaining about how cold he was. I try to ask him what the matter is, but he never tells me. Oh, Helga, what's my friend coming to?"

Helga tilted her head condescendingly at her significant other. "It's probably nothing, dear," she said, "but whatever it is that's going on, sooner or later, it'll all work out in the end."

"Hmm..." Gorroh said. "Perhaps you're right, Helga. Perhaps things WILL turn out." The flaming-haired tyrant and his wife exchanged smiles. "Perhaps even soon..."

* * *

Bowser glared at his two opponents, and they stared back. All three fighters were covered in bruises and were panting heavily. All this, and, still, the queen just watched.

"Okay," Bowser puffed. "You guys are tougher than I thought, dat's for sure..." Aberto and Brando twisted their fingers around their hammers some more as they watched this Koopaling cautiously. "But you're all losers now!!" Bowser added. He puffed his chest out, leaned his head back, and started breathing in. The two Mario guards raised their hammers and started running towards the enemy, screaming at him while they were at it.

The distance between the two parties got shorter by a great amount each second. The queen observed this with much anxiety. The moment the two Marios were about to bash Bowser's skull in, FFOOOOOMMM!! The queen was horrified by the fates of Aberto and Brando; they were knocked back by a surge of incinerating flames. Their blackened hammers flew from their hands and hit the ground. Soon after that, the two soldiers fell back as well, burnt to a crisp. They lay down on the ground with smoke rising from their twitching bodies. The queen watched them in pure despair.

Bowser smiled devilishly, letting streams of dark grey smoke squirm away from his lips. He looked at the queen, sending chills up her spine in the process. "No!!" she rasped, waving a hand in front of her in a repelling gesture. "Stay away from me!! PLEASE!!"

Bowser just grinned some more. "Tough luck, lady! Now come here!!"

"NO!!" The queen started walking backwards as the young Koopa began to advance towards her. He strut past the two bodies of Aberto and Brando, witnessing the queen's desperate facial expression. After looking left and right, the queen finally turned around and made a break for it down the opposite end of the hall.

"HEY!! GET BACK HERE!!" Bowser called, going into a sprint himself.

With her breath hyperventilating, the queen struggled in desperation to run as fast as was physically possible while holding her billowing dress up and while wearing high-heels. Already, she was beginning to sweat. She looked behind her and noticed the insane Koopaling was gaining on her. She gasped, started looking ahead of her again, and tried to run even faster. Naturally, this only made matters even more difficult. Feeling her feet twisting about beneath those high-heels of hers every time they landed against the ground, she would have sworn they were starting to bleed. Wincing in pain and being eaten away by fear, those high-heels finally cost her. She hit the ground the wrong way, twisting her foot in the process.

The queen yelped and fell to the floor. Slapping the floor with her hands didn't help much, either. She struggled to get back up, and WHAM!! She let out a scream as Bowser got himself a seat right on her shoulder blades. He placed his feet beside her head as she began to squirm and whimper beneath his weight. Bowser's next move was to wrap one claw around her fluffy ponytail and straighten it out. This allowed him to finally get a good look at that sparkly, black hair-tie. He also noticed his victim was still thrashing about.

"Hey, welax, lady. I just want your hair-tie," Bowser said. This didn't stop the woman from squirming and grunting, frustratedly. Using his other claw, he grabbed a hold of the accessory in question, and slid it right off the woman's stalk of hair. Feeling this the woman yelped again. Bowser looked down at her. "Don't worry," he said as he took out his own hair-tie. "I'll give it back..." Bowser fastened on the new one and placed his fists by his sides. "...Not."

The queen felt enraged by this comment. Just when she was about to start thrashing even harder, Bowser leapt off of her back, and started running back towards the way he came. A load has been lifted from her back, yet her heart grew heavier. First they took her babies, then they took her hair-tie. What next?

There was no need for the woman to thrash any longer, but there was certainly a need for something else. Her face contorted and she lifted her hands from the ground. She buried her face in them and, with her long, brown hair becoming a mess, she began to sob uncontrollably...

Away from her, in the throne room, Kamek still had everything under his control. Guido and the mob of Marios that were advancing on the Magikoopa earlier were still standing back, letting the unlawful sorceror keep his hold of the king.

"Look around you," Kamek said to them all. "The room has been demolished, and so many of you have been wounded, if not killed. None of this would have happened had you have just cooperated."

The other Marios may have felt some guilt by the wizard's speech, but Guido wasn't licked. He couldn't stop looking at the king's empty stare. _What is wrong with him?_ he wondered. Kamek continued talking.

"Not that it matters now," he said. "I suppose it's just a matter of time until my loyal Toadies come by with the princes. Then we'll be on our way and all of you can just go back to your daily lives..."

_Oh, Foreman Spike, where are you?_ Guido thought, clenching his teeth. Suddenly, everyone could hear that gremlin-like laughter again, although this time it was accompanied by the sound of babies screaming. All eyes faced the door where they heard it last. Out of it came the four Toadies Kamek mentioned. In their clutches were the two princes of the kingdom. Everyone was horrified by the sight. Not Kamek, though. He looked at his quartet of minions and smiled with great satisfaction.

"Well done, boys," Kamek said to them, once they were right in front of him again. "I suppose I'm done here," Kamek said to everyone else in the room. He suddenly released his hold of the king, letting him fall flat on his face. Everyone gasped. Kamek put his wand away and pulled out his broomstick. He hopped onto his magical form of transportation, and began to hover towards that one doorway. Then, to everyone's surprise, Foreman Spike ran into the room. Guido and the Marios all looked astonished and relieved.

_Finally!_ Guido thought.

"Ahh, no you don't, you spell-casting weenie!!" Spike yelled. "You get back down here, or else!!"

"Or else what?" Kamek said.

Foreman Spike scowled at the Magikoopa. Then Bowser burst into the room. "Hey, you!! Tough guy!! You're gonna wanna fight me now! I'm tougher than ever now!!" At that moment, everyone's attention was directed towards the obnoxious, little tyrant, especially Spike's.

"Oh, for crying out loud..." he grumbled, placing a hand over his eyes in annoyance. Bowser kept charging forward, with every intent in the world on showing that guy what he was made of. Then...

...ZZIPP!! "HEYYY!!!" Bowser was suddenly hanging upside-down, flying through the air. Kamek had gotten a hold of his tail and was flying his broomstick away from that place.

"Forgive me, Master Bowser," the sorceror said. He then looked down at the crowd of gawkers. "SO LONG, MARIO LAND!" he yelled. "MAY THIS EXPERIENCE BE A LEARNING ONE FOR ALL OF YOU!!"

Seconds after that, all eight of Bowser, Kamek, Mario, Luigi, and the Toadies were gone. They had flown out that window they busted earlier, leaving everyone in the ballroom to stand around and feel a nasty, heavy sensation in their guts. Foreman Spike continued looking out where the perpetrators had disappeared off to. He drooped his shoulders and breathed a sigh. "We're dead meat," he moaned.

Meanwhile, Guido was busy running up the steps of the throne area. He picked up the king, held him up by his shoulders and shook him. "Your Highness!!" he blurted. "Your Highness! Snap out of it! Please!!" The king still stared emptily. Guido then started holding him with just one hand. WHACK! Using the back of his other one, he slapped the king across the face. The man of royalty suddenly started blinking and shaking his head very quickly.

"Wh-wh-" the king stuttered. "What happened? What's going on?" Guido's was not the only solemn-looking face the man could see. As he looked around, he could see that all of his servants were looking quite glum as well, including Foreman Spike. "Oh no," the king said quietly. "Oh, please, no..." The king covered his eyes with one hand and joined the rest of the Marios in their moment of loss. Guido shifted to his side and began to pat him on the back.

Foreman Spike watched this, then turned to look at his feet. With his hands in his pockets, he had some depressing thoughts on his mind. _Today is indeed a dark day for Mario Land..._

Up in the sky, flying away from the scene of the crime were Bowser, Kamek, the Mario Bros., and the Toadies. This has certainly been a successful moment for them, but Kamek could have been in higher spirits. Not only could he hear Mario and Luigi screaming their lungs out, but also he could hear Bowser behind him nagging away.

"...And thanks to you, I'll never see dat guy again!! I wanted to pwove I was better than him, and you wuined evewything!! I hate you, Kamek!! You're a big dummy-head!!"

Kamek rolled his eyes. _All in a day's work, I suppose,_ he thought. To the sound of three very loud brats, Kamek and his Toadies flew on. The Clattagin Woods were waiting for them...


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**  
A large amount of people were gathered near the docks of a certain town. A very special occasion was going on, and it seemed there wasn't a single soul that dared miss it. On one of these docks was a very pretty woman, standing in front of two rather tall men. Beside this trio was a boat. Meanwhile, the female member of this trio was speaking to the audience.

"Farewell, everyone," said the beautiful, young woman to the crowd. Her voice was high-pitched, silky, and very sweet. It was like a valley of flowers personified. "I'll see you all soon..."

Like everyone else in the village, her skin was pale silver. Unlike everyone else, however, instead of a slightly darker shade of silver, her hair was gold for the most part. On the other hand, like everyone else, her ears were long, oddly-shaped, and pointy, the front two locks of her hair were magenta, her eyes were magenta, and her long, pointy fingernails were magenta. Another big similarity between her and most of the other people in the village was the fact she was wearing sandals for her feet and mostly white for her body. More specifically, she wore some type of sleeveless dress, letting her skinny arms hang out. However, half the time they couldn't be seen because this woman's hair went all the way down to her ankles.

The two men behind her basically just looked like taller, more masculine versions of her but with hair that was mostly silver. She continued her speech.

"And don't worry...the evils of this world will perish and we'll all be able to live in harmony once again. This, I promise you..." The woman took a bow and the audience cheered. She then walked onto the platform leading onto the boat and hopped aboard. Her two male companions followed her soon afterwards. A while after that, the boat began to drift off into the ocean. The woman waved to everyone as they all cheered for her. In a few seconds, the boat and the three people on it had become just another speck on the horizon. Chattering amongst themselves, the strange-looking people of this mysterious village started heading on back to their homes. One of them was a woman whose appearance hardly differed from that of the woman that just left. She was busy walking with her handsome young man of a son and her slightly younger daughter.

"I'm going to miss her," said the daughter. She had a pretty cute voice herself. "She was like a sister to me."

"I guess I'll miss her, too," the son said. His voice wasn't too bad, either. It was deep-pitched and gentle. "I hope her journey goes well..."

"Don't worry. She'll be back soon enough," the mother said. Her voice was very smooth and soothing. She almost sounded like an orchestra of string instruments. "Now, come on," she said, "back to the tavern."

"Yes, mom," said the daughter.

"Okay, mom," said the son. After that little discussion, the three-some continued walking, drawing closer to a certain structure in the village while they were at it. This day was turning out to be a good one for quite a few people in that village. Everyone was in high spirits and hope was in the air. Surely whoever it was they just said goodbye to would be able to return in triumph...

* * *

After a while, Kammelina and Kammeo finally got to emerge from that one cave, chatting to one another all the while.

"It's finally going to happen, sister!" Kammelina said. "Our enemies shall be swept off the border!"

"No one stands a chance!" Kammeo agreed. Smiles were upon both their faces. Then Kammeo suddenly looked grim. "Provided nothing unexpected happens," she added under her breath. Kammelina continued to smile. But then...

"Going somewhere, ladies?" The two witches stopped in their tracks. Any trace of a cheery mood was instantly wiped from both their mugs. They looked ahead and saw that some new form of trouble had already arrived. Kammelina snarled at this unrequested obstacle.

"What's it to you, eh?" she retaliated. Their enemy just snorted.

"You can't hide it. You are servants of the infernal god, Veyran. I'm sorry but I can't allow anyone like that to live."

Kammeo glared at this mysterious person's mace, apparently being ready for some action. "That's what you think," she growled. Both the younger and elder of the two sisters carefully drew their wands from their robes.

"I'm not the magic-using type, but that won't stop me from defeating you," the enigmatic person threatened.

"We'll see about that," Kammelina spat. Scowls were being born by all three of these people. With their respective weapons ready, they soon lunged at each other and the new fight began...

* * *

The sky overhead was turning orange. Xoshi and White Rose were walking along a dirt path somewhere in the Clover Kingdom. Appropriately, this path was surrounded by a number of clovers and clover-like plants, each of them varying greatly in shape and size. A good portion of them were tiny. They paved a large amount of the green area the same way blades of grass would. Other members of these plants were larger and came closer to bushes. Some even were gigantic and resembled trees. In addition to this, birds were flying around here and there, and bugs were buzzing away in the other direction. Neither one of the two travelers could help but walk about this place, looking at it in great interest.

"I suppose this is why they call it the Clover Kingdom," White Rose stated.

"Yeah," Xoshi replied.

The two travelers walked a little more. Then White Rose brought up something else. "Sir Xoshi?" he said. "Where exactly are we headed now?"

Xoshi talked to Beel about this a little. After that, the brown Yo'ster responded. "On the other side of those woods, we'll find...a village," he said, pointing to a vast collection of less clover-like trees that the path was leading them to.

"Hm. I see," White Rose said. "Perhaps we should pick up the pace. It's getting rather dark..."

"Yeah," Xoshi said again. The duo then continued walking down the path, eventually walking right through the entrance of these woods. A few seconds after that, they had officially disappeared into it...

* * *

After a bit of a short walk, the two of Chogun and Davey were at last able to return once more to the humble town of Goomba Grove. A good few of its resident Goombas were quite happy to see their return. However, they were a bit perplexed by the absence of their other two heroes. The unfortunately transformed duo were asked about this quite frequently.

After dealing with their crazed fans and journeying through the fortress once more, the duo was able to come face-to-face with the original, blue and white-garbed Goomba King they were able to rescue earlier. The royal Goomba was sitting on his throne and was very pleased by their return.

"Chogun! Davey! It's good to see you again."

Chogun scratched the back of his head and Davey rolled his eyes a bit at the sound of this. "Likewise, sir," the bug man replied.

"Ah, but where are the other two? Big Guy and Laser Snifit?"

"Oh, um," Davey said, rubbing the back of his neck, "they just...couldn't be here."

"Oh. How unfortunate..." The Goomba of royalty looked solemn for a moment, but then he perked up a little. "Now then. What can I do for you boys?"

"Well, it's like this," Chogun started. "We weren't always...a bug and a little boy. Some spell made us this way. We're looking for a way to reverse the effect so we can return to normal. We didn't know who else to turn to for help. Any ideas?"

The Goomba King widened his eyes upon hearing this. Then he furled his brow and shifted his eyes in thought. "Hmm," he exclaimed. Then it occurred to him. He put his eyes back on the two visitors. "You know, come to think of it, I think there is a way."

Chogun and Davey looked as surprised as all get-out. "You do??" the two of them said in unison.

"Yes," the royal Goomba continued. His two saviors began to listen more intently. "Somewhere in the Clover Kingdom, there's a place called Carnival Alley. Over there, you'll meet a man named Chirinu. He knows how to undo spells like these."

"Really??" Chogun said as relieved as ever. His partner, Davey, had a big grin on his face. "Thank you very much, sir! But how will we get there?"

In response to this, the Goomba King hopped out of his throne and landed in front of the happy two-some. "Just follow my lead," he said. He then walked around the duo and proceeded waltzing out the door. Soon afterwards, the two of Chogun and Davey began to follow as instructed. Thoughts of wonder revolving around where this man could be taking them was on their minds...

* * *

Big Guy's arms were getting pretty tired, as were his legs. His whole body, save for his head, was soaking wet. He had been swimming for hours on end while Laser Snifit had been doing little to no exercise whatsoever. A glazed look was sweeping over Big Guy's eyes while his partner was busy looking up at the darkening sky.

"Hmm..." the grey 8-Bit hummed. He looked down at the back of his companion's big head. He could hear him panting heavily. "Big Guy? Are you alright? You're looking rather fatigued."

"Huff...huff..." Big Guy wheezed. "No way," he rasped. "Not...until...we get...to..." Then the gigantic 8-Bit saw it. An island in the distance! He swore he could see it being colored by shades of red and yellow. "BOBBUS ISLAND!!" Big Guy crowed. "Yes!! Come on, Snifit! We're almost there!!"

"Hm," Snifit said simply. Then his muscular teammate started swimming even harder, breaking into even more of a sweat than he already had been.

_It's been a long road,_ Snifit thought. _What possibly lies in wait for us next?..._

* * *

Similarly, Annabyss in her Nep-Enut form with the three of Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa atop her head, was still sailing along in search of Uaurpe.

_Hmm..._ Tessa thought as she looked at the trail of waves the Nep-Enut was leaving behind in the process of swimming forward. Then she held up her hands, marveling once more at the fancy white gloves they were wearing. _I wonder what exactly these things are capable of?_ She let her fingers twiddle a bit beneath the strange garments. _I can't wait for the opportunity to try them out..._

During this, Annabyss kept focusing her gaze forward. Uaurpe was still nowhere to be seen. But wait...what was that over there? Annabyss squinted her rainbow Nep-Enut eyes at the sight in question, thought hard, then shifted her direction to face that of what she was staring at earlier. Her three companions couldn't help but notice the shift.

"Warum ändern Sie Richtung?" the brothers asked in unison.

"Bobbus Island," the sorceress said. "Unforgiveable actions are being committed there. We must go and correct them before it's too late..."

"Ja, madame." With that, the brothers and their young female cohort could continue enjoying the ride.

_Bobbus Island,_ Tessa thought. _Maybe I could try my gloves out there..._

* * *

The blue and white Goomba King had led Chogun and Davey to some docks leading into the sea and sticking out of the beach-like edge of the peaceful Goomba Grove. Beside one of these docks was what appeared to be some kind of metal cylinder sticking out of the water with a parascope on top of it. One side of the cylinder had a logo-like picture painted onto it of a Goomba. Chogun and Davey observed this once they were very close to it, making them at the end of the dock practically. In front of them were two more Goombas like the high-ranking one behind them. They looked very familiar.

"Ah, Goomba King. Good to see you," said the one in the lab-coat. "What brings you out here?"

"Good day, Dr. Goom," the king said. "I was wondering if you could escort Chogun and Davey here to Carnival Alley."

"Can do," said the Goomba in the lab coat. Then it hit Davey.

"Hold on," the boy said, "you were that Goomba at the control panel, weren't you?"

"Yeeess," the Goomba responded, moving his eyes to the left.

"And you," Chogun said, pointing to the Goomba next to him, "you're the one who would host those boring plays!"

Even though he was wearing a sailor's outfit over his traditional black tuxedo, he could still tell it was him. "Yes, that was me," the Goomba said.

"Well then," Chogun stammered, "how do we know we can trust you then?!"

"Well..." Dr. Goom started. Then CLUNK. The top of the cylinder by the pier flipped open and out of it climbed another familiar face. All heads turned to face it. Those of Chogun and Davey were a little surprised and a little pleased by the sight.

"What's all the fuss about? The sub's all set to go, and you people are out here yakking! What gives?"

"Nothing, Clarence. It's just that these two gentlemen seem to think we're still convicts," Dr. Goom said.

"Oh, is that it?" The man sticking out of the submarine turned to the two that Dr. Goom referred to as gentlemen. They still couldn't believe it was the big, hairy Clumph they met earlier. "Yo, Chogun! Davey! No need to worry. These guys have learned their lesson. They're just trying to be normal people now."

"Ah, that's a relief," Chogun sighed. Both he and Davey drooped their shoulders some knowing they could relax.

"We all got new jobs after the fake Goomba King left," said the Goomba next to Dr. Goom.

"Hm? Even you?" Chogun asked, pointing to the Clumph.

"Huh? Oh, no. I've just always wanted to ride in a submarine," the muscular beast replied.

"Ah, okay," Chogun said.

"Well," the real Goomba King spoke up, "I can see you're all getting along. Enjoy the trip, everyone. I'll be heading on back to the fortress, now."

"Alright. Have a nice day, Goomba King," Dr. Goom said. The Goomba King nodded. Then he turned to the transformed duo.

"Oh, and Chogun? Davey?" the royal Goomba said.

"Yes?" Davey asked.

"Good luck."

Davey smiled and nodded. "Thank you." The Goomba King returned the smirk. After that, he turned around and started walking back to where he came from, leaving the duo in need with the trio of submarine-oriented people.

"Well," Dr. Goom elicited, grabbing Chogun and Davey's attention again, "as you may already know, I'm Dr. Goom." The technological Goomba then gestured to the Goomba next to him. "This here is Goombil. And that, of course, is Clarence." The Goomba and the Clumph ended up exchanging a few waves and nods with Chogun and Davey. "This here," the doctor said, gesturing towards the submarine, "is my latest and greatest invention: the Kariboo Sub. It'll get us to Carnival Alley in no time."

"I see," Chogun said.

"Now all we have to do is get inside of it. Clarence, if you will..."

"Aye-aye, captain!!" the Clumph said, doing a perfect impression of a pirate. Chogun and Davey couldn't help but be impressed by this as they watched the Clumph disappear into the depths of the vessel, getting himself out of the way in the process.

"Ahem. After you," Dr. Goom said. Chogun nodded. He walked up to the side of the pier the opening of the submarine was closest to and he hopped into it, grabbing a hold of a ladder while he was at it and starting to ascend. Soon after that, Davey, Dr. Goom, and Goombil could perform similar actions. Within a short matter of time, all five people had boarded the aquatic transportation device. The hatch closed up and the submarine could finally turn around and start drifting away from the docks. The journey towards Carnvial Alley had at last begun...

* * *

The woods that Xoshi and White Rose were journeying through were strange ones. There weren't many clover-related things in sight, but it was still an odd place to be. All the trees, all the leaves, all the blades of grass were transparent and they seemed to be glowing a light aquamarine color. They walked on, taking in the mysteriousness of this place, all the while with a glowing shadow of blue being cast over them.

"How curious," White Rose mused. "I feel like I'm in another world..."

Xoshi nodded and grunted in agreement. The duo trekked onward, basking in the odd, mystical atmosphere a while longer until they reached an opening in the woods.

"Finally," White Rose said as they approached this opening. The two travelers walked through it and discovered a town. At the sight of it, Xoshi and White Rose only ended up becoming more awestricken. Beneath the purple sky, this was a very peaceful place with strange-looking, silver-skinned people roaming about here and there. Like their robes, this place was populated with teepees that were mostly white with green, intricate patterns coiling across them. Some of the other buildings, however, were larger, more geometrical, and made of wood. Between all these structures were roads paved with soft, pink bricks and bushes and trees that resembled the plants of the woods this place was built in the middle of. One of the strange-looking people approached Xoshi and White Rose shortly after they entered the town.

"Welcome, travelers," he said. "This is Silicon, the village of the Pixies. We hope you'll like it here. Will you be needing a place to stay for the night?"

"Yes," White Rose said. "That would be nice."

The pale silver man turned around and pointed to one of the larger buildings. Sure enough, there was a sign on it that read "Inn."

"The woman there, Eon, would be more than happy to give you a room," said the man. "Anyway, you have a nice day."

"Thank you," White Rose said. Then the man walked off. With this out of the way, Xoshi and White Rose could continue their journey. They walked down one of these brick roads and up to the entrance of the inn that the man pointed out to them earlier. They pushed their way through the double doors and immediately found themselves in a restaurant setting. All over the place were tables, chairs, and whatnot. Some of these things were already occupied by a few of those odd-looking Pixies. Hanging off of the walls and growing out of pots in various places throughout this setting were flowers, all of them adding an extra nice feel to the sanctum. In the center of it all was a rectangular counter with a young, male Pixie behind it cleaning glasses. To the right of this counter was a staircase leading upstairs.

Xoshi and White Rose observed this new vicinity, and then were approached by a Pixie. "Welcome," she said to her two new customers. "My name is Eon, and this is my tavern. What can I do for you today?"

This Pixie just happened to be a woman with silver hair that was so ridiculously long, it could touch the back of her ankles. The front two locks of it were magenta and they curled up into two odd swirls at the bottom in front of her. She wore a skintight, white dress that started above her feet and ended halfway up her neck. This dress was completely sleeveless, exposing the woman's pale silver arms. Around both wrists, she wore two black bracelets, and around her neck, she wore a necklace of silver beads. Judging by the few, minor wrinkles on her face, Xoshi and White Rose could tell she was of the middle-aged type, but she was still quite pretty. She had a small chin, magenta lips, curvy eyebrows, a small, upturned nose, and wide, shiny, magenta eyes that were rimmed with pitch-black eyelashes. On both of them, the three that were near her temples had single little magenta-colored beads sticking out of them. In addition to this, each strangely-shaped ear had a round emerald hanging from it. Hanging from that emerald would be a topaz one. She also had some magenta blush to bring out her cheekbones. Overall, she was odd-looking, but pretty.

"We'd like a room, please," White Rose said.

"Okay then," Eon said. She turned around. "Pixel!!" she called.

A small, beautiful, young woman stepped forward. Xoshi's jaw dropped. She basically just looked like Eon, but a lot younger, not to mention a lot cuter. Her hair only went down to her shoulders and the front two locks of it didn't curl up at the bottom. As for her attire, she was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt that exposed her shoulders, but ran billowing sleeves around her arms. Along the edges of the top and bottom openings of this garment of hers, as well as those of her sleeves, were rims of green. Each green part had lines and dots of gold and dark green twisting all over them in various geometric patterns. It made them look like the inside of a computer. On the front of her outfit, two more stripes of these green things came down from the top part, but didn't connect with the bottom part. Similarly, on the parts of her sleeves just above her wrists were two more bars of the strange green. For the lower half of her body, she wore a pair of flares that were dark green, but still looked similar to her shirt in a way. Also, around her neck, she wore a necklace with a floppy disk at the end of it.

"Yes, mom?" the young woman said. Xoshi found he was also quite infatuated by her voice.

"Show these gentlemen to their room, please," Eon said.

"Okay, mom," Pixel exclaimed. "This way, please," she said, gesturing to the two men, turning around, and walking towards the stairs. This revealed that, on her back, was a cross-like shape coming from the green around the top of her poncho. White Rose was following her, but Xoshi wasn't moving. He was just standing there, staring at Pixel. The two of her and White Rose were just barely getting started on the stairs when they suddenly stopped and began looking at him. He was getting stares from Eon and the man behind the counter as well.

"Sir Xoshi? Is something the matter?" White Rose asked.

Xoshi snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh, um, no. Nothing," he fumbled. Pixel smirked and made her eyes roll a little. Then she and White Rose continued up the stairs. Pretty soon, Xoshi was doing the same. Eon and the man behind the counter shook their heads and continued working...

_Xoshi, what's gotten into you?_ Beel asked.

_I don't know,_ Xoshi answered. _I haven't felt this way about a girl since...Jeila..._

_I see..._

Pixel led Xoshi and White Rose down a hall after leading them up the stairs. She stopped at the one door at the end of the hall. She opened it up, revealing two beds, a table, a chair, a bookshelf, a window, and a lavatory. "Here we are," she said. "Make yourselves at home. By the way, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. My room is that door, over there." She pointed to the door closest to the stairs they just ascended.

"Thank you, madame," White Rose said to the girl. She smiled at him as he walked past her. White Rose went through the door and he was gone. Xoshi began to do the same. During this, Pixel began to walk away. This didn't end well. BUMP! Their left legs collided into eachother, and both people went falling to their faces.

"UMPH!!" they both grunted. As a result of this, Xoshi's items went flying out. His Honey Syrups, Dried Pasta, and Dried Shroom along with his idol and his Belome doll landed between the two of them. They both began struggling to get up.

"Gosh, I'm sorry," Pixel said.

"It's okay," Xoshi elicited. Pretty soon, the two of them were on their knees.

"Here, lemme help you with this," she offered, beginning to pick up some of his stuff for him.

"Um, thanks," Xoshi said as he began to gather his things as well. Between the two, Pixel was the one that was able to get his Honey Syrups and Xoshi was the one who got his Dried Pasta, his Dried Shroom, and his Belome doll. There was just one thing left. Pixel picked it up and looked at it admiringly.

"Oh, my. What's this?" she asked.

"That's my idol of the...Super-Happy Tree," Xoshi said slowly.

Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "You've seen the Super-Happy Tree??" Xoshi nodded. "Oh, my friend, Pixidus, saw it once. She's seen a lot of things. She used to tell me about it...but she left just a little while ago..."

"She...left?"

"Yes," Pixel said. "She's got a journey to complete. See, these strange creatures called Melon Bugs have been terrorizing vicinities everywhere lately. She's off to the Beanbean Kingdom to take care of that."

"Melon Bugs??" Xoshi said. He recalled a moment or two during that Kamek incident when he encountered a few of those very things. "I've seen them!!"

"You have??" Pixel responded. Xoshi nodded again. "Oh my..." She strummed her fingers against Xoshi's idol a bit. "Well... I can see we've got a lot to share, but I'm afraid we'll have to save it for later. My mom'll kill me if she catches me slacking off like this."

Xoshi looked a little disappointed. "Oh...I see."

Pixel got up off the floor, and so did Xoshi. "Well... I'll talk to you later." They looked at each other for a second. "By the way, what's your name?"

Xoshi stalled a moment, thinking. "Xoshi."

"Ah... That's a nice name," Pixel complemented. Xoshi scratched the back of his head. "Well... See you later," she said. Xoshi gave her another nod. She turned to walk away, but then she stopped and turned to face the brown Yo'ster again. "Oh...and here's your idol back." She handed the figure back into Xoshi's hands.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome." The two swapped some smiles. Once again, Pixel turned around. She walked down the hall and began to descend the steps. Then she was gone. Xoshi remained standing, watching where she had disappeared. He seemed to be deep in thought. Then White Rose walked up behind him.

"Sir Xoshi." The entranced Yoshi jolted and turned around. He saw it was just his sword-wielding partner behind him. He relaxed some after that. "I'm about ready to turn in for the night, but I must ask you: where shall we be headed next on our journey?"

"Um..." Xoshi asked Beel another question. When he got the answer, he suddenly looked a little perplexed, but then decided to acknowledge White Rose's inquiry anyway. "Marinotropolis," he stated. White Rose widened his eyes.

"Marinotropolis??" the knight protested. "Sir Xoshi, are you quite sure? That city's underwater. How could we possibly make it there?"

Xoshi looked a little sheepish. He started talking a bit more with Beel. Then he went back to White Rose. "Um..." he started. "You'll find out in the morning."

"Hmm..." White Rose shifted his eyes to the right. He looked at Xoshi once more. "Fair enough," the knight said. "Very well then, Sir Xoshi. We rest for now." The swordsman turned away from the Yoshi and went deeper into the room once more. Xoshi stood thinking for a moment, but then he did the same as White Rose. Pretty soon, both travelers were in their own respective beds. White Rose was lying on his side, facing away from the Yo'ster, so that kind of made Xoshi feel as though he had a small sense of privacy in that respect. He and Beel once again began to converse.

_So what's going on between you and this girl?_ Beel asked.

_Nothing,_ Xoshi replied. _It's not like we're having an affair, or anything..._

_But you and Jeila aren't courting..._

_True,_ Xoshi admitted. _We're not. But still..._ Xoshi paused. The Star Warrior in his head awaited an answer but got none.

_Still?_

_Nevermind,_ the Yo'ster finally said. After that, there was a pause in the conversation. Then the Yoshi picked it back up again. _Beel?_

_Yes?_

_How exactly ARE we going to get to Marinotropolis? If what White Rose said is true..._

_You worry too much, Xoshi,_ Beel said. _Let's just relax for now..._

_Alright..._ Xoshi complied. He turned over on one side, facing the wall closest to him. He lowered his eyes halfway wearily and stared at nothing in particular. The brown Yo'ster then commenced relaxing after yet another long day...

* * *

"Foreman Spike, Guido...I wish you good luck. Please...get our children back..."

"Leave it to me, your Highness." Six people were back in the ballroom of the Mario Land Grand Castle. The two sitting in the throne were the king and queen, of course. The two standing before them were Foreman Spike and Guido. Standing beside the king were a battered and bruised duo of other Marios. Regardless, the two guys were still able to stand erect and alert.

Foreman Spike and Guido were an interesting-looking pair at the moment. This time, both of them were wearing overalls, regular shirts, white gloves, and hats. Foreman Spike's overalls were black, whereas Guido's were dark teal. They went well with his long-sleeved shirt, which was a lighter teal, as was his hat. The foreman's shirt was short-sleeved so his muscular arms could show. It was a jade-like color, which matched his hat. Unlike Guido's, though, the bill of his hat was rimmed with white, and the letter in the center of its white circle was an S rather than a G. Not only that, but instead of the same color as the rest of his hat, this S was a dark blue. Plus, it took on a more interesting shape, allowing it to extend beyond the borders of the white circle. All this, and the backs of the foreman's gloves had similar S's on them while Guido's just had traditional lines. With these outfits, they were ready for the journey ahead of them. There were just two more guys for the leader of which to talk to...

"Aberto, Brando?" Foreman Spike said to them after addressing the king, "you guys take care of things while I'm gone."

"Yes, sir," said the two guards simultaneously.

"Well, Guido," the foreman referred to his sidekick, "let's be off."

"Yes, sir!" Guido agreed. To follow this up, the duo gave a few last waves to the four people counting on them, and they began to descend the stairs that surrounded the thrones. They walked down the aisle until they reached the fancy double-doors at the end of it. They opened them up, went on through, and were gone from the king and queen's sight.

"Oh," the queen sighed, looking glum. "I hope they succeed. I miss our children already..."

"Don't worry," the king said. "Foreman Spike and Guido are the strongest soldiers we have. If anyone can get them back, it's them..."

"Hmm..." the queen pondered. "Maybe they will get them back..."

The king looked at his wife and placed his hand on top of hers. "They will," he promised. The royal couple exchanged smiles. They let the evening carry on while basking in the thought that the successful return of their chidren was a great possibility indeed...

* * *

"Ugh," Boshi grumbled as he continued walking past a certain body of water beneath the night sky. His back was hunched as he trudged along. His search had not been very prosperous. "This is taking forever," he commented. "I've looked for hours, and still no sign of'em. Man, I hate this place..." The blue Yoshi continued walking, not willing to give up just yet.

When he walked across a certain dirt path, two people emerged from the cave at the end of it and started walking down this path.

"So, how do you suppose we're gonna get there?" Guido asked.

"Simple," Spike replied. "We go to the docks. There's a woman there I know that'll give us a lift."

"Ah. Okay." The two-some walked onward. At some point, however, the leader of the two stopped walking and started looking towards his left. "Sir?" Guido said, stopping as his superior had done.

The foreman stared a while longer. Then he started looking forward again. He shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and continued the walk. "Nothing," he responded. "I just thought I saw someone wearing my old shades over there..."

"I see..." With a certain woman to attend to, the two of Foreman Spike and Guido journeyed on, leaving Boshi to go on his own, separate odyssey.

"Strange," Boshi mumbled to himself. "Thought I just saw a guy wearing the same shades as mine..." The Yo'ster paid it little mind and went back to minding his own mission. This occurred, and the night went on for these three people in Mario Land...

* * *

Ren, Razule, and Goomba Prince were still busy hopping around in their custom-patented Boomba's Shoe. Goomba Prince was piloting the device, Razule was enjoying the ride, and Ren was watching the footprint-shaped ripples showing up, one after another, behind them each time the giant boot took a leap across the water. He still couldn't believe that this was indeed what the strange machine was capable of, but that didn't seem to be his primary concern at the moment.

"Razule?" he asked. "Are we getting any closer to this Clubba Road you speak of? This is getting quite tiring..."

Razule opened his eyes and looked ahead. He saw a sliver of green beginning to show up on the horizon and smirked. "You can rest easy, Renny boy!" the odd creature spoke up. "Clover Kingdom draws near. And THAT means that Clubba Road is too! YA-HOO!!"

Razule breathed a sigh. "That's a relief," he said. After that, he could continue watching the waves behind them. To add to this, Razule closed his eyes once more. Goomba Prince, on the other hand, just kept manning the machine.

_That's all well and good for Ren and Razule,_ he thought, _but what's gonna happen once we get to Clubba Road?_ The Goomba basked in his wondering. _Right now, I can only speculate..._ With those thoughts in mind, the Goomba went on with making the oversized boot hop away into the night...

* * *

Foreman Spike and Guido had arrived at the place they had been looking for: the docks. More specifically, they had arrived before a small, wooden house that just happened to be next to one of these docks. At the end of the dock this house was near, the silhouette of something large and oddly-shaped was sticking out of the water. Whatever it was supposed to be, the mastachioed duo paid it no mind and approached the front door of the house. Foreman Spike extended a fist and knocked a few times. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Some seconds later, the door opened. Standing behind it was a female Magikoopa. "Yes?" she said. "How can I help you?" The woman was a bit of an odd sight. Her long hair was white and her entire wardrobe was made of patches, all of them varying in colors mostly consisting of cold ones like green, blue, and purple. This all seemed to make her vaguely resemble a rag doll.

Foreman Spike cleared his throat. "Yes," he said, "you wouldn't happen to be Oglian, would you?"

"That's me," the Magikoopa said. "Do you need me for something?"

"Yeah," Foreman Spike replied. "We need you to escort us to Castle Koopa in the Koopa Kingdom."

"Well, you've come to the right person," the aged woman said. Foreman Spike and Guido stepped aside as the senior citizen walked out of her door, closing it behind her. She started walking down the pier with her two customers being right behind her. She led them to the end of it where that large thing sticking out of the water could be seen. She stopped walking and turned and faced the thing. She made a rising gesture with her right hand for some reason. Much to the two men's astonishment, especially Guido's, this caused the thing before them to lift up a long neck and point at the trio the head of a weird-looking mammal. The mustachioed duo made sure to take note of the thing's strange-looking, furry green skin and the stitches and white spots that were lacing it all over.

"Meet Selkford, the sea camel," Oglian said, "one of my larger oga dolls." The woman gestured towards the unusual thing's head. "After you," she said. Guido went first. He walked onto the doll's fuzzy head, descended its neck, then found a nice place to sit atop one of the thing's humps (the one in the back, to be more precise). Then it was Foreman Spike's turn. He got the hump in front of Guido. Last but not least, Oglian got on. She sat atop the doll's head and started making more odd movements with her hands. In response to this, the massive doll began to turn around, away from the docks, and start swimming off in one direction, leaving Mario Land behind. "Castle Koopa, here we come," Oglian said as the journey at last came to a start.

Drifting through the water, Guido couldn't help but continuously be amazed at what he was riding. He kept turning his head left and right, trying to take in even more details of the object.

"Pretty sweet, eh?" Foreman Spike commented with his arms folded. "To think, Guido," he went on, "this would be just ONE of many things dolls are good for..."

* * *

Sackle and Crookie were in high spirits. According to that radar of theirs, they were but a few feet away from the precious doll they had been seeking out. Both of the thieves were on the edges of their seats, sweating profusely and waiting with great anticipation for the big moment.

"Ohhh man," Sackle squealed, "that doll's gonna make us rich, baby. REALLY RICH!!"

"Right-oh, boss!" Crookie concurred. The Giga Mole dug more and more. The doll was getting closer and closer. The two thieves were being driven nuts by the wait this was taking. They practically had to keep themselves from screaming. Just a few more clawings through the dirt and they were there. Closer... Closer...

SHOOF! The next movement caused the robot's claw to dig straight through nothing. This sudden hitting of the air befuddled the dastardly duo.

"What in blazes-" Crookie stammered. He fiddled with the controls a little, but it was no use. The mole continued digging, clawing its way through the tunnel even though there was nothing left to dig. This caused the overgrown metal thing to get pushed out of the tunnel into the air itself. This spelled bad news. As a result...

"Uh-oh."

"You've done it now, Crookie."

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!" They both screamed as the robot fell from the hole it made and CRRASSSHHH!! It hit the cold, hard ground, right on its head. This made for quite the demolition for the device to take. Smoke rose from the remnants of the machine and sparks flew from it as well. A few seconds later, with their hands rubbing their sore heads, Sackle and Crookie could emerge from the wreckage and find out what was up. They met up with each other in front of the device's head.

"Now what?" Sackle said.

"I dunno, boss," Crookie answered as he and his superior looked around. "Pretty creepy place if you ask me..."

The duo was in a very large underground room. It was illuminated by various torches decorating the walls here and there. Aided by the yellow glow of this sanctum, the two-some could see that, surrounding them in this circular place, were all kinds of random things, including tables, tools, nuts, bolts, sheets of metal, and other such things. Seeing how rusty, crumpled up, and strewn about these things were, they began to wonder if this was a junkyard of some sort. Whatever the case, their wrecked Giga Mole seemed to blend in pretty well.

"Hmm..." Sackle said as he began looking around. "This place seems oddly familiar to me..."

Crookie was a bit perplexed by this. "How so, boss?"

"Well..." Sackle started. He scratched his head in thought, trying to place his finger on it. Then...

"INTRUDERS!!!" Not being able to ignore such a high-pitched screech, the duo turned around and let horrified looks befall their faces. Floating before them was a transparent, Snifit-like creature donned in a blue robe and a ghostly tail keeping it afloat. "HOW DARE YOU!!!" it shrieked again.

"B-Blifit?" Sackle stammered. "Is that you??"

The ghost Snifit scowled at the blue-capped thief. "YOU TWO..." it growled, "...YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!!!"

With its fin-like arms extended menacingly, the ghost began to float slowly towards Sackle and Crookie.

"Boss??" Crookie whimpered. "What's happening??"

"I don't know, Crookie," he replied, fear shaking his voice, "but it doesn't look good..."

"Oh, man..." Crookie moaned. Before they knew it, the moment they had dreaded had come. Blifit got her way...

* * *

Xoshi lied awake in his bed. He and Beel were talking to each other. _So, you used to be someone named Princess Shokora?_ he asked.

_That's right,_ Beel replied.

_But..._ Xoshi made a weird face to no one in particular. _I thought you were...you know...male!_

Beel laughed. _We Star Warriors don't come in different genders, you know._

_That's bizarre,_ Xoshi thought. _Well,_ he added, _let's just hope none of those freaks you told me about come OUR way..._

_Indeed..._

Xoshi still had his eyes wide open. He shifted onto his right side and folded his arms. He shifted onto his left and placed his arms beneath his head. He lied down on his back and crossed his arms across his chest like a corpse. Nothing worked. _Argh..._ he grumbled in his head. _I can't get comfortable no matter what I do. I'm just having another one of those nights..._

_Insomnia, hm?_

_Yeah..._ Xoshi sat up in his bed. He looked to his right and watched the mass underneath the covers of the other bed, rising and falling in a breathing pattern. Xoshi envied his mysterious partner. He looked away and shook his head. He pulled back his sheets and hopped out of bed. He walked towards the door.

_Now what?_ Beel asked.

_We see if I can't get a midnight snack..._ Xoshi grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, opened the door, and walked on through it, closing it quietly behind him. He walked down the hall, down the steps, and into the cafe from before. There were only a few lights on, including the one from the moon shining through the windows. It looked eerie, but peaceful. It was a pretty quiet setting at the moment. Xoshi approached the counter that Pixel's older brother was cleaning glasses behind earlier, but no one was there this time. He scratched his head, beginning to wonder if his hunt for a midnight snack was a lost cause.

"Xoshi?" There it was again. That lovely, feminine voice. The brown Yo'ster jerked his head to the left and noticed that Pixel herself was sitting atop one of the stools in front of the counter, helping herself to something. "What are you doing up?" she asked, curiously.

"Oh, uh," Xoshi said, once again, looking for the words, "just...looking for somethin' to eat."

She pointed her fork to a glass bowl full of various little colorful things. "Want some fruit?"

Xoshi went bug-eyed. "Yes, please," he said, showing how well Beel's lessons had been working for him. Pixel flashed another smile to him. He walked up to the counter and hopped onto the upraised stool to the right of the one Pixel was on. He spotted a cube of cantaloupe somewhere in that glass bowl. SHLICK! Pixel gasped. In the blink of an eye, that piece of fruit was inside Xoshi's mouth. He swallowed and released a satisfied sigh. Pixel giggled.

"You like fruit, huh?" she said.

"Oh, yeah," Xoshi replied. "So how come you're up?"

"My work's done for the day. I'm just enjoying myself now."

"Okay."

She smiled again and stabbed another piece. After consuming that one, she got to speaking again. "So," she said, "you say you've seen Melon Bugs before?"

Xoshi ate another piece. "Yeah," he said. "One time...a baby fell out of the sky," he began explaining. "Me and...seven friends...we took it to its brother. We had to fight a Magikoopa...Kamek. It wasn't easy...hit a few Melon Bugs along the way. Pesky."

Pixel nodded. "Yeah. They've been being a real nuisance lately. They're all over the place! You hear horror stories about them all the time. They say the end of the world's coming..."

Xoshi was about to go for another fragment of the produce before them, but he stopped suddenly and looked shock. He looked at her intently. "End of the world??" he blurted.

"Yeah," Pixel said solemnly. "It's all Tondariya's fault. She tried taking over the world once, now she's trying to do it again, even though she's dead. They say the only way to make the Melon Bugs go away is to revive Tondariya, but Pixidus thinks there's another way. That's why she's going to the Beanbean Kingdom. She's going to make a wish to the Bean Star, which is something she should be able to do since it's known to only grant wishes upon hearing the sound of the most beautiful voice, and she's got the best voice in the village."

Xoshi stared ahead, looking pensive. "I see."

"Troublesome, isn't it?" Pixel said, circling her fork above the delicacy.

"I know," Xoshi replied. He scratched his chin a bit, then ate some more fruit. SHLICK! Pixel took her turn to try some. "You know," Xoshi said, "I'm...on a big mission, too."

Pixel looked intrigued. "You are?"

"Yes," Xoshi said. "The Star Spirits...they want me to find seven people and give seven wands to them so they can face something called the oncoming evil. They said...something about the end of the world..."

"Oh," Pixel responded, "really?" Xoshi nodded. "Hmm... I guess that's why you're here."

"Yup."

"I wonder," she said, looking ahead, dreamily, "could Tondariya and this oncoming evil have anything to do with each other?"

Xoshi shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe."

"Well," she stated, piercing through another piece, "I hope all goes well for both of you."

Xoshi nodded again. "Thanks."

A few seconds after that, the fruit was all gone. Both Xoshi and Pixel had reduced it to little more than a glass bowl full of little splotches of juice. They both hopped out of their seats and stretched. "Well," Pixel began, "it's getting late. I guess we'll see each other in the morning then."

Xoshi gave her another nod. "Guess so," he elicited.

The two people left the cafe, ascended the stairs, and stopped in front of one of the doors. "Thanks for talking to me, Xoshi. I hope you get a good night's rest."

Xoshi smirked. "You too," he said.

They exchanged smiles once again. "Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight." With that, Pixel turned her doorknob, entered, and closed the door behind her, waving to the Yoshi during that one last glimpse they could catch of each other. Xoshi waved back. He stayed behind for a bit, standing and staring at the floor with his hands folded behind him.

_Nice girl,_ Beel said.

_Yeah..._ Xoshi agreed. He stood around for a while longer, then finally turned around and headed for his own room. Once in there, he went back beneath the covers, got into a reasonably comfortable position and shut his eyes. _Goodnight, Beel._

_Goodnight, Xoshi..._ At last, Xoshi and his head mate could get some well-deserved sleep. Their day had ended...

* * *

Beneath the waves, the Kariboo Sub continued its journey. Inside of it, the two Goombas, Dr. Goom and Goombil, were manning it while Chogun and Davey were sitting around in a room behind them, laughing it up, watching Clarence do some more of his impressions. After another round of their laughter subsided, Clarence continued.

"And this is my impression of an old guy," he said. Chogun and Davey watched excitedly as the Clumph suddenly started hunching over with one hand clutching an invisible cane and a hand placed upon his back. Once again, his voice was completely different. "Well, that'sh an intereshting shtory. You shee, it all shtarted during the war. People in thoshe daysh had to wear tree shtumpsh on their headsh, due to the great hat shcare of '28, but in thoshe daysh, hatsh were called 'bumber-dingersh,' shince the word 'hat' wash conshidered the word of the devil." Chogun and Davey burst out laughing once again. The Clumph stood upright again. "And this is my impression of a door-to-door salesman." He started holding onto on invisible briefcase and knocking on an invisible door. When he opened his mouth, his voice sounded entirely different again. "Good day, sir. Are you interested in buying an automatic pie? You'll never go hungry again! It eats itself while you wait. Wait! Don't go! I'll even throw in my toupee! Free of charge! How about a sock? Only a day old!" Chogun and Davey started roaring with laughter again, tears streaming from their eyes.

Meanwhile, Dr. Goom was getting rather irritated. He turned around and started yelling. "Would you people pipe down?! Shouldn't you be sleeping, or something?!"

"Sah-dee!" Clarence called, apologizing with a foreign accent. The lab coat-donning Goomba could hear snickering from their other two passengers. He could hear it from the Goomba next to him as well. He grumbled and went back to minding the sub along with Goombil. He scoffed. "Actors..." With the sound of various impressions and rites of laughter, the Karibooo Sub went on with its journey to the Clover Kingdom...

* * *

FWOOSH! Laser Snifit stared in satisfaction at the nice orange glow of yet another fire he managed to get going. He placed his hands near it, letting the warmth reach his grey-colored fins. He did this for a little while, then began talking to his overgrown companion. "So, you're sure Robin Hifit, Small Fry, Crystal Guy, and Grey Guy are here?" he said, not even looking at the man. "I mean, I was pretty sure they were all dead." The only answer he got was some loud snoring. He turned his head around, letting the blue shadow of the night fall upon his face rather than the orange glow of the fire. He could see Big Guy's massive body lying on its side away from him, his body rising and falling a bit as a result of the breathing. The grey 8-Bit shook his head and turned back towards the fire.

_As much as you hate that guy, you gotta admit, he's pretty dang strong,_ Laser Snifit thought. _To think...he swam ALL this way to Bobbus Island. What a guy..._ At that moment, all that could be heard coming from this little opening in the woods somewhere on the mysterious Bobbus Island was the sound of the fire crackling and a gigantic man snoring. Tomorrow was another day...

* * *

Elsewhere on Bobbus Island, a different group of people were resting. Wario and Waluigi were leaning against a tree with their arms folded and their hats drawn over their faces. Annabyss was sitting on the ground with her legs folded beneath her. Tessa was resting her head on her lap, dreaming peacefully. At the time, the elder of the two girls was the only one within the vicinity that was still awake.

_We'll take care of this little problem, then continue our journey to Uaurpe,_ the enigmatic woman strategized. _As usual, anything could happen..._ Thinking this, the woman remained on the lookout, ever the one to not ever stop for sleep...

* * *

And so, the night carried on. All the while, throughout various places, stars twinkled in the sky and people slept in their beds, dreaming away. Each passing hour made them closer to attacking the new day, and Xoshi was no exception. Before he or anyone else knew it, the sun had risen, and that time had come. Soon, both he and White Rose were leaving their beds, stretching, packing their things, and such. A while after this, the knight approached the Yoshi. "Now then," he said, "let's go get some breakfast." The brown Yo'ster nodded. Then the duo exited the room and began making their ways to the cafe.

Down there, things were bursting with life again. Sitting at various tables were assorted different people, helping themselves to whatever they could. Pixel's older brother was back behind the counter, her mother was greeting some of the customers, and Pixel, herself, was right in front of the hungry Xoshi and White Rose.

"Hi, Xoshi!" she said. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yup," the Yo'ster said, smiling.

"That's good," the Pixie replied. "Anything I can get for you two?"

"Fruit," Xoshi stated. Pixel beamed at him again.

"And you?" she said to White Rose.

"I'd also like some fruit," he said.

"Okay then! Follow me." The young Pixie weaved through some of the chairs and tables until she came across a vacant place for her two customers. "You two wait here. Your fruit will be ready in a minute."

"Thank you," White Rose said. The duo sat down as the girl walked off. As they waited, they could hear the clinking of forks against plates and the conversations of the other people in the restaurant. Soon, White Rose started up one as well. "This girl," he said to Xoshi, "she seems to have taken a liking towards you."

Xoshi felt slightly embarrassed. "Yeah..."

"Women," the swordmsan continued, "they're fascinating specimens, no?"

"Yeah..." The two travelers went on with their waiting. Eventually, of course, it got interjected again.

_Xoshi..._ Beel said, grabbing the brown one's attention.

_Yeah?_

_Look behind you, and listen very carefully..._

Xoshi looked confused by this new strange-sounding order, but did it anyway. Near the entrance, he could see Eon talking to a man covered in teal scales. His feet and his hands were both webbed. His lips were fat and wide. Fins stuck out of his back as well as the sides and top of his head. He had no nose, but two wide, yellow eyes with very large pupils. He was a walking, talking fish.

"Oh my," Eon said, marveling at this man's unusual guise, "if you don't mind my asking, where are you from?"

"Marinotropolis," the fish man said. Xoshi's eyes widened. "I go back there today. I heard something terrible happened." Eon nodded, interestedly. Xoshi's eyes widened even further, becoming in danger of popping right out of his head.

"Something the matter, Sir Xoshi?" White Rose asked. The brown Yoshi turned back around to face him.

"Nothing," he said. To his left, Eon was busy sitting the fish man down at a table right next to theirs. "It's just..." Eon left. White Rose began to stare at the fish man just as his partner was doing. "I think...our journey just got easier..." The knight nodded his head slowly and scratched his chin behind his veil. A moment after that, Pixel arrived with their food, told them to dig in, got thanked for it, and left. After that, the only thing the two travlers had to do was eat and have a little chat with this man from Marinotropolis...


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**  
The underwater city was a truly wondrous sight to behold. The entire place consisted of all kinds of oddly-shaped buildings, from squiggly lines to spirals, all of them covered in mirror-like windows that came in a wide variety of different colors, from pink, to blue, to green, and so on. Some of them even looked as though they were made from precious metals. The buildings were all very tall, doing much more than dwarfing their inhabitants. All of them were teal and fish-like, and quite a few of them were piloting assorted aquatic vehicles, making their ways across invisible highways. One such vehicle was like a jet ski. It had four people on it. The two in front consisted of a fish man and a Noki donning a purple shell, swirly glasses, a grey beard, a fishing rod, and a wide, flat, circular, relatively bowl-like hat. The two in back consisted of a brown Yoshi and a white knight, both of which having their heads encased within transparent orbs with collars of blue around their necks. At some point, the Noki turned around to ask their two passengers something.

"How are my helmets working, boys?" he said.

"Fine, thank you," White Rose said.

"That's good," the Noki responded. He turned back around, continuing to enjoy the ride while his fish-like companion resumed manning the device. More and more buildings sailed past the quartet before the fish man could take his turn speaking.

"A little further and we'll be there," he said. "'Tis a shame our vacation to Noki Bay had to be cut short."

"I'll say," the aged Noki replied. "Well, once we reach your place, we can help out these two young fellers you met at the tavern, and life can go back to normal again. Ho ho ho!"

"Indeed." The home of this fish man was drawing closer, and all their two passengers could do was marvel at the city's beauty during this journey...

* * *

"Okay... One more time..."

A man was knelt down in the center of a circle carved into the white tiled floor of a room dimly lit, kept alight only with a few candles flickering here and there, each of them being able to do so as this room was not filled with water as the outside of its building was. The man's eyes were closed, his head was bowed down, and his hands were folded. The longer he sat there in the dark, the more it appeared as though something was actually going to happen. The circle he was inside of began to flash with a fluorescence of light blue. The flashing gradually got faster and faster. This continued until the whole shape began to buzz with luminescent blue lightning. A very stern look was spread across the man's face. A vein in his forehead was in danger of bursting. It throbbed as the flashing continued, until finally...FWOOSH! The light died down. The man's eyes snapped open. His vein disappeared and he began to pant heavily.

"Damn it!!" he cursed between breaths. "I still can't do it!!" The man suddenly swallowed to help out his exhausted throat. His head turned towards the door leading into the dark room. "Oh, when will he be here??"

The man panted a bit longer. Then, as if on cue, the doorknob turned, grabbing his attention. He looked at the quartet turning on the lights and walking into the room: a Noki, a Yoshi, a swordsman, and a man that looked a lot like him: his brother.

"Marcelino!!" the man in the circle said, standing up with his arms spread out.

"Marcellus!" his brother said, making the same gesture. The two approached one another and got into a nice embrace, patting their backs in the process. Then the two stepped away and looked at each other.

"Good to see you, Marcelino," Marcellus said. "How was Noki Bay?"

"A truly beautiful sight," the brother responded. "I'll be sure to bring you next time, but I digress. How have you been fairing in my absence? I heard something terrible happened here."

"Oh, yeah," said Marcellus, suddenly looking grim. "A little while ago, there was a disturbance. All the lights in all the buildings were going on and off. Appliances and cars weren't working either. Yellow lasers of some sort even started firing into the sky. It was very strange and kind of scary, but we managed to pull through." The fish man gave a sigh. "However, I'm afraid I was one of the unluckier ones..."

His brother took on a concerned look. "How so?"

"Ever since the incident, my powers haven't been functioning properly. I tried using them to find you, but no luck." The misfortuned fish man shook his head.

"You shouldn't worry. They'll be back...eventually, that is." He said this while walking past him and patting him on the shoulder. Just before he could enter the circle in the floor, he turned around and gestured towards two of their guests. "By the way," Marcelino added, "this is Xoshi and this is White Rose. They came to me in search of someone."

"And I was the one who gave them those helmets! Ho ho ho," the Noki commented.

"I see," Marcellus exclaimed, getting some waves from the two air-breathers of the party. He turned towards his brother who was busy kneeling down onto the floor in a position similar to that of the one he himself had done just a while ago. "Ready?" he asked.

"Dim the lights," Marcelino requested. His brother went over to the switch by the door and did so. Click! Everything was dim again. Four different pairs of eyes all began to watch the man in the middle of the room. "Now," he quietly said, "let's see where this Leif is hiding..."

* * *

Kammelina and Kammeo had their backs stuck to each other. They were sitting on the sea floor, dry with their bubbles merged and keeping a dome of air around them. Neither of them could use their hands. A thick and incredibly sticky, semi-liquid, purple ooze was binding them together like some rope, but worse. Their brooms had been tossed aside and the mystery man they struggled to fight earlier was floating before them, twirling his mace around in one hand. The two witches scowled at him.

"Well, I must say, ladies, you put up quite a fight," he said, "but now it's time to say goodbye." The man turned away from them, knelt down, and began to pray. "Star Spirits," he said, "please accept these two foul beings as a sacrifice. My mace and I are beyond ready to let their blood spill in your name..."

Kammeo started fidgeting. "Such a unique power that man has," she whimpered, "what do we do now?!"

"I have no idea, Kammeo!" Kammelina spat back. "We'll probably just have to wait for the inevitable..."

"Oh dear..."

Unbeknownst to any of these three people, in the distance, two glaring eyes were starting to get closer to them...

* * *

Marcelino was almost finished. Like his brother, a vein on his forehead was throbbing, and the circle around him was flashing with blue electricity. After a while of this...FLASH! A bright white light flooded the entire room. Then it died down, returning the room to the dimness of before. The circle and the man inside of it were also returning to normal. A few seconds later, Marcelino suddenly started drooping his head down further. His hands were massaging his temples and he started inhaling and exhaling, crazily. His brother, Xoshi, and White Rose approached him.

"Well?" Marcellus said. "Any sign of him?"

"Yes," Marcelino rasped. "He's way out in the middle of nowhere, and he seems to be in the process of doing a ceremony of some sort."

"Hopefully, he'll be done with it by the time we get there," White Rose chided.

"Indeed," Marcelino concurred. With a little help from his brother, he was back on his feet and breathing normally again. "Alright," he said, "let's go to him."

"Right," White Rose agreed. After that, all five of the people in the room were in the midst of leaving it, heading for that jet ski of theirs...

* * *

Titotal Gonnic, captain of the space aliens, was not in a very good mood. He was standing around somewhere in one of the metallic hallways of his ship. Angrily, he growled and fired his fist. WHAM!! It connected with the wall. Prying it away, he could reveal he had made a dent in it shaped perfectly like his fist. The captain glared at it and started hyperventilating in rage.

"I can't believe this," he growled. "How could I lose to a stuck-up bigot like that...that golden guy?!" The unpleasant, grimacing captain began to smush his fist into the palm of his hand, letting them take turns cracking knuckles. "I swear, the next time a man challenges me and he's all covered in rubies and sapphires and whatnot, he's got another thing going for him." The purple alien growled and threw his fists to his sides, beginning to pace some more about the ship. Two of his subordinates, Wart and Katana, were right behind him, watching him be this angry. "But how are we supposed to do it without Cutlass?! He was the only one that stood a chance against that guy!!" The big alien walked past his two crewmembers, still bearing a nasty frown twisting his face. "And what happened to him, anyway? Where is he now? What's he doing?" The captain stopped walking. With his back turned towards his two men, he held his hands out in a gesture of desperation. "It's too much," he grumbled.

_"THEY HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF US,"_ Wart said. _"THEY HAVE YET TO LEARN THAT WE'RE NOT ONES TO GIVE IN SO EASILY."_

The captain turned his head around ever so slightly. He gave a cold stare at the large frog with one eye. "Oh, really?" he growled, turning his hands into fists. Wart didn't say anything. Neither did Katana. He just kept standing erect, staring forward. His only reaction to all this was letting a single bead of sweat roll down his silver face.

_I hate it when the captain's like this,_ the silver man thought. _If only something could interrupt this awkward moment..._

"SIR!!"

Katana breathed a sigh and relaxed his shoulders somewhat. _Perfect timing,_ he contemplated. A silver space alien wearing one of the regular uniforms walked into the area. He was slightly on the short side, his face was something short of handsome, and his hair was particularly messy. The captain turned around and folded his arms so he could face this individual.

"What is it, Wrench?" the captain sneered.

"I think I know a way to beat Tondariya's speed in the next race," the man named Wrench said. He reached behind him and pulled out a blueprint. He unraveled it and handed it to the large captain. The high-ranking alien held it between his brawny hands and scanned the little white lines decorating the thing. Wrench got beside him and began to point to the various figures. "It's the ultimate motorcyle," he explained. "It comes with everything including a sensor system that allows it to see and memorize everything within a ten-mile radius, inside and out. It can even be set on auto-pilot." Wrench stood back and held his hands out dramatically. "I call it...the Turbosu!!"

At the sound of this, the captain's deathly scowl softened into a look of mild interest and a bit of amusement. Wrench looked up at the man, rubbing his hands over one another, smiling slightly in a state of hope. The captain handed the blueprints back to him. "Make three of them," he said, "and be quick about it. I can't stand this place much longer..."

"Yes, sir!" Wrench said, saluting his superior. Then the man ran off, leaving the captain behind with Wart and Katana.

The captain watched him leave. Once the little man had disappeared, the captain could let a sinister smirk creep onto his face. He stood up straight, stuck out his prominent chin, and folded his hands behind his back. He turned around and began to strut down the hall. Wart and Katana were following him. "You know, boys," he said, "maybe...just maybe...things are starting to go my way..."

His two faithful followers couldn't have agreed more. The trio seemed to be in cheery moods. Then...

"CAPTAIN! CAAAPTAAAINN!!"

None of the three devious space aliens could feel brightened by this sudden outburst of panicking. They turned around and saw one of their purple aliens running towards them. The captain recognized him as the man that informed him of it earlier when the ship had finally been repaired. "What is it?" the captain demanded once the alien skidded to a halt. He was out of breath, but he struggled to get something out anyway.

"The Yoshi...the one named Naji..." he wheezed. The captain scowled.

"What about him?!" he blurted.

"His tube...it's empty... He's escaped, sir!!" Looks of shock befell each of the three high-ranking aliens.

"Blast. Of all the..." the captain grumbled, looking away for a bit. He then turned back towards the purple alien. "Get everyone to arm themselves and to begin searching every last inch of this place. He can't have gotten far..."

"Yes, sir!" Like Wrench, this purple space alien saluted the captain before running off to carry out his orders. Watching this other henchman of his disappear, the captain shook his head.

"Maybe," he said, grabbing Wart and Katana's attention once more, "things AREN'T starting to go my way..."

That purple space alien did his job well. After running into various rooms of the ship and yelling his head off, the assorted troops of the place were soon grabbing their weapons and piling into the halls of the UFO, storming about here and there, each of them making quite a lot of noise in their frantic search for an escaped prisoner.

The escaped prisoner himself, Naji, was about to leave one particular hallway that was relatively dark and into another that was illuminated quite nicely, but once he started hearing a rather large amount of footsteps headed his way, he began to have second thoughts. He slapped his back against one of the dimly lit walls and had a good look at what was coming. They were plentiful; aliens of purple, green, and silver all were tromping down that hall, each of them armed with laser pistols, swords, and other such weapons he didn't feel like dealing with. The purple Yoshi gulped and began to back away from where he was headed, back into the darkness that he had just come from. Even though the tables had turned, things were still looking pretty good for the Yo'ster. He kept walking backwards until...

BUMP! Startled, Naji suddenly turned around and looked up. He couldn't quite make it out, but it appeared he had inadvertently bumped into a particularly large and muscular purple space alien, this one with a sloping forehead and messy dark purple hair. "Duh... Aint you that Yoshi that everyone's looking fors?" the large alien asked, pounding one meaty fist repeatedly into a palm, menacingly.

Naji gulped, stepped back, and shook his head. "Of course not. Don't be silly."

The humungous alien snarled at the dwarfed Yo'ster. "Duh, I aint THAT stupid!!" The ogre clasped his hands together and raised his arms high above his head. Naji decided not to take any chances. WHAM!! The Yoshi jumped back in the nick of time. All the alien had done was swing his arms down and use them like a sledgehammer to create a crater in the metal floor. Shards of it were stuck in the monster's fists, causing them to start streaming rivers of dark purple blood, but he didn't seem to care. He lifted his fists back up and growled at Naji. Seeing how this brute wasn't going to be giving up any time soon, the powerful Yoshi turned and fled. "Duh, hey! Get back here!!" the behemoth yelled. Naji ignored him. He ran until he reached the hall he was about to enter earlier. Since he saw those other aliens head for the right, he decided to take a left. Naji sped down in that direction. Big mistake.

"HEY! THERE HE IS!!" This was yelled by a silver space alien armed with a dagger, backed up by a whole mob of other aliens with assorted other weapons. The dagger-wielding alien made a gesture, swinging one arm forward. "GET 'IM!!"

"Shoot," Naji grumbled. He turned around and began to run off in the other direction. Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught sight of something fast and purple coming from the right. "Tch..." Very acrobatically, Naji dropped to the floor and rolled forward like a wheel. WHAM!! He looked behind himself and saw that the mob was running past a big, dumb, purple space alien stuck in the wall. He was glad he was able to dodge such an assault.

The purple Yoshi's feet were already getting tired as he ran down this hall, but he couldn't let those aliens catch up with him, no matter what. After a while, the hall began to take a turn to the left. Naji didn't know how well this would aid him, but he took the turn regardless. He came to a screeching halt and looked ahead in horror.

"IT'S HIM! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!!" Another silver space alien and his mob could be found here. Naji hissed something foul. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. He made a fire symbol appear as the two mobs began to close in on him in both directions. Fireballs materialized in both of his reptilian hands. He flung them at the mob ahead of him like a pair of grenades. BOOM! BOOM!! They were both able to send a good portion of aliens flying. Evidently, this did some damage, but it still wasn't enough. Just when the mob behind him was getting close, he made a light symbol and conjured up two spheres of light in his palms. He tilted forward and ran as fast as he could, plowing right into the mob. Left and right, various aliens were getting scorched and tossed aside as his orbs of light nicked them. Finally, he fired them both off as a duo of powerful lasers, piercing through many more enemies ahead of him in the process. Blood was getting splattered everywhere, yet this was just the beginning.

Naji made an orange hexagon symbol. He thrust his palms outward and twirled around. "AAAUUURRRGGHH!!!" the aliens screamed, as they got obliterated by Naji's onslaught of flying boulders. These things flattened some and crashed through the walls, allowing Naji a bit of an opening. He lunged forward, stepping on a few people's heads as he bounded off. Zing! Zing! Naji flinched as two spears just barely missed him. He kept running down the hall, letting the mob behind him regroup itself and continue the chase.

Naji continued running until he saw a door of some sort with a line running vertically through it, and a panel of buttons beside it: an elevator! Naji stopped before it and hit the button with the arrow pointing down on it. The wait began. Unfortunately, during this, the mob was beginning to catch up. Cursing to himself again, Naji turned around, faced the mob, sneered, and made a teardrop symbol show up. He threw his palms out, aimed them at the oncoming army, and unleashed a tidal wave of stinging, white, gushing water. This knocked quite a few of them off their feet. Naji felt somewhat satisfied, seeing the effects of his assault. Unfortunately, not even that was enough. Aliens were still on their feet, continuing to charge. Growling a bit, the purple reptile prepared another spell. DING! At last, the elevator was ready. It was just as well since a few silver aliens with daggers, sais, and spears were getting dangerously close. Before leaping into the opening doors of the shaft, Naji made a light symbol and fired some white lasers at them. "UGGHHH!!" Three bloody messes hit the floor and Naji was already inside the lift. He felt relieved. Then WHAM! Just when the elevator was beginning to start up its descent, a purple hand stopped the door from closing and pried it open. Naji groaned as one of those purple aliens lunged in, wielding a laser pistol. He slammed the Yo'ster against the wall, pinning him to it with one hand and pointing a gun to his head with the other. While this was happening, the elevator was already going down, letting sparks fly as the wall outside it scraped against the mangled door. Meanwhile, the alien was getting started on squeezing the trigger.

"Say goodbye, felon," the alien snarled.

"I...wouldn't do that...if I were you," Naji rasped, making his fingers tremble and twitch beside him.

The alien scoffed. "Oh? Why not?" he said, cockily.

"Because," Naji choked, "I'm powerful." The alien made another scoffing sound. Once he was just barely returning to the squeezing of his trigger, POW!! Naji's star-elemental attack had taken effect. WHAM!! The alien flew back and slammed against the wall. TSEW!! Even after flying from the man's grip, the laser pistol fired. It made a smoking hole in the corner of the ceiling and clattered to the floor. As for the man, he was no longer alive. He slid to the floor with a big, bloody hole in his chest. "Toldja," Naji said, mocking the corpse.

DING! The elevator stopped. The sparks quit flying and the shaft opened up. The upper half of the alien's dead body fell backwards, letting its dead head plop onto the floor. Naji stepped around the unsightly corpse on his way out, then SHING!! Someone had tackled the Yo'ster, went sprawling with him across the metal floor, slashing at his shoulders with his sais while he was at it. At some point, Naji got fed up with the assault and he kicked the silver alien off of him, sending him skidding across the room.

"Always a silver one," Naji grumbled, "but where's Cutlass?" BAM!! Naji was knocked to the side by a powerful blow to his temple from another silver's club. He flew until he hit the wall. WHAM! He fell to the floor, clutching at where he got hit. Pulling his hand away from it, he could see it was drenched in purple blood. "Damn it," he cursed. Once he looked up, he could see the alien with the club along with a purple one and a frog were leaping towards him. "Oh, for the love of..." The Yoshi made a snowflake symbol appear. He threw his palms out and TSSINGG!! All three enemies had become massive blocks of ice. Unfortunately, this didn't stop them from heading his way. "GREAT!!" Naji fumed. At the last minute, he ducked and rolled out of the way. KSSSHH!! The three frozen figures crashed into the wall behind him, sending shards of ice and frozen blood flying. A few of them even managed to graze the purple warrior. He slapped at the back of his neck, sensing some stinging there. He rubbed it while he seethed in anger. When he looked up, he saw a big, fat mass of green, purple, and silver blurs charging him. "CRAP!!"

Being far from licked, the purple fighter got back on his feet and ran straight into the fray, keeping his hands out, knocking back anyone who came to close to the dark energy they were wrapped in. This was a good tactic, but it wasn't without its retaliation. SHING! SHING! SHING!! Naji winced as he felt sais and daggers slicing him all over. He wasn't sure how much his tail or his sides could take. Finally, he burst out of the mob, turned around, gave them a deadly look, and made a wind symbol. The aliens tried attacking him at that point when they clearly had the chance, but they were doomed. FFWWOOOMMM!! Naji fired a gigantic, grey, spiraling tornado at them. This sucked up a good portion of the fiends and spat them out, tearing up the ship and making all kinds of holes here and there while it was doing this. Naji panted as he watched this, feeling purple blood beginning to coat his body. Once he felt the attack was finished, he pointed his palms at the funnel of wind, conjured up some more of his powers, and used it to hurl the tornado right into one of the walls of the spaceship. FFOOOMMM!!! This was certainly effective. It caused a tunnel of destruction to be formed through all kinds of layers of halls and rooms throughout the ship to be formed. At the end of it, he could make out the color of brass. He wasn't sure what this meant, but he began to run through the messed up tunnel anyway.

Behind him, the captain, Wart, and Katana, along with another angry mob, had entered the room. The captain saw the severe damage, clenched his teeth and scowled so hard, he was in danger of bursting an artery. He pointed to the escaping Yo'ster and screamed, "GET HIM!!!" Obeying the command, the next wave of aliens began to fly out from behind the high-ranking trio and swarm Naji's tunnel.

Naji looked behind himself and saw that this was far from over. "Geez," he grumbled. In spite of the unbearable pain he was in, he kept on running and jumping over the oversized pieces of debris he created. Then things got worse. TSEW! TSEW!! Lasers started sailing past him. He grit his teeth in frustration. "Don't these morons know when to quit?!" While running like mad, TSEWW!! "AAURRGHH!!" Naji clutched at his right arm. Smoke was rising from it. The Yo'ster most definitely was in poor condition. Regardless, he continued his flight and the aliens behind him continued their pursuit.

A few narrowly avoided lasers later, and the end of the tunnel was finally coming close. Naji could taste victory. TSEW! TSEW!! Two more lasers just barely missed his shoulders. He looked behind himself and he could see the aliens were getting closer. He looked ahead and prepared himself. He dashed forward, skidded onto the spiky rim of the tunnel's exit, flexed the muscles in his legs, and leapt off. With that, the Yoshi was falling through the air, surrounded by airplanes of all shapes and sizes. He thought he could recognize a few of them, but that wasn't important. Just before his feet hit the ground, he pumped his legs, performed a flutter-kick, and landed safely. Then he began to run across the smooth, brass floor of this tremendous sanctum, whizzing past the wheels and legs of all these various machines while he was at it. TSEW! BOOOMM!! One leg exploded. Naji craned his head up and saw that one particular airplane was in danger of falling right on top of him and squashing him. Thinking quickly, he took a turn and began to run diagonally away from the plummeting monstrosity. BBAAMMM!! The plane took quite a spill. Upon hitting the ground, the plane managed to get a rather large portion of its metal scrunched up and its windows shattered. It had totally been demolished.

"That was close," Naji told himself. TSEW! BOOOMM!! "Oh, GEEZ!!" Naji had to make yet another diagonal turn. A few seconds after that, BBAAMM!! Another plane had just come crashing down. The purple Yo'ster began to sweat. "When will it end?!" he groaned.

"Keep shooting, boys," the captain growled, giving orders to a few purple space aliens crouching down at the end of the tunnel, aiming and shooting with their laser pistols, "he hasn't won yet..."

TSEW! BOOOMM!! Another plane came crashing down. Once again, Naji barely survived it. In the distance, a certain man with a spear, a red robe, a white mask, and two little Melon Bugs was watching this display of senseless destruction in concern. "Oh my," he said, "Tondariya's collection..."

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOOMMM!! A few demolished planes later, and the man in red could see a purple Yo'ster running towards him. The man frowned and held out his hand.

"STOOOOPP!!!" he screamed. Naji skidded to a halt in front of the man. He was panting, sweating, bleeding, and even smoking badly. He glared at the strange man. The red-robed person put down his hand and glared at the warlock Yo'ster, keeping a firm grip on his spear. "You're the one behind this, aren't you?"

TSEW! BOOOOMMM!!! A plane behind the purple mage suddenly became destroyed like the others. Naji saw this, faced the man in red again, and growled. "Look. I don't have time for this. Just tell me how to get out of here!!"

The red-robed man stared at the Yoshi and scratched his chin. Without removing his gaze, he took his hand away from his face and pointed behind him. Naji just saw an enormous, flat brass wall.

"WHAT?!" Naji yelled. Suddenly, TSSEWWW!! Naji ducked, but the man stood still. KA-BBOOOMMM!!! Realizing no harm had been done, Naji got back up. He was confused at first, then wide-eyed. He saw that, behind the red man was, not a humungous, flat wall, but a gargantuan, smoking hole in a brass wall. Beyond that, all he could see was musical notes and blackness. The Yoshi was in awe. "What in-"

"-A leap of faith, dinosaur," the masked man said. "Take one. Now."

Naji looked dumbfounded. "But-"

TS-BBOOOMMM!!! Another plane exploded. "NOW!!!" the man screamed.

Naji got the message. He suddenly sprinted past the tall man and his Melon Bugs and went straight for the hole. Hearing more explosions behind him, he didn't hesitate to leap right through the hole. He dove down into the void, as though about to enter a pool. That was when, right beneath him, a trumpet-like mouth suddenly materialized, and swallowed the reptilian sorceror. Then the portal closed up, making the void empty again. Naji was free...

The captain was nowhere near pleased by this. The aliens before him had ceased their firing, each of them perfectly silent. Hearing some heavy breathing. They slowly turned around. They saw the captain's blazing face. His teeth were clenched, his eyes were narrowed, veins throbbed up and down his neck and his temples. All this, and his fists were closed so tightly, they were beginning to make his palms bleed. Even Wart and Katana behind him took a step back once they heard him take a deep breath.

"DAAAAAAMMMNN IIIIIIIIITTT!!!" The aliens thought their ears were detonating. "WHY?!? WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?!! WHYYYYYY?!?..."

Numerous yards away, a certain man in a red robe could tell another huge loss had befallen someone. He didn't care. He and his Melon Bugs peered into the hole that one purple Yoshi leapt through earlier. They eyed where he had supposedly disappeared. The red man shook his head and tisked.

"Poor soul," he said. He turned around and began to stride away. His two Melon Bugs began to hop after him. "No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try..." The man listened to some more of the captain's screams of anguish, echoing in the distance. "...You can't escape the wrath of Tondariya..."

* * *

Xoshi, White Rose, and their other three companions had been journeying through the ocean for quite some time now. No buildings were any longer in sight at this point; only vast plains of the sea floor. Xoshi had a bored look on his face.

"Oi," he sighed. "How much longer?"

Marcelino made a humming sound. "It shouldn't be-" He stopped himself. He squinted his eyes, leaned his head forward, and saw something: three figures in the distance near a cave, two of them pink and very close together. Marcelino's eyes widened. "We've found him!!" he said. His other four companions suddenly became very excited. "Everyone, hold on. We're almost there," he reassured. Five enthused people journeyed onward, realizing they were finally getting somewhere...

"...And, please, take their souls and see to it that they be sent back to..." The mace-wielding man was still not finished with his ritual and Kammelina and Kammeo were still sweating up a storm.

"Sister," Kammeo whimpered, "are you sure there's nothing we can do?? I don't want to die!!"

"Of course, you don't, sister," Kammelina spat back, "but face the facts. There's nothing we can-" Kammelina saw it: not too far away from them were five people on a jet ski-like vehicle headed their way. The elder Magikoopa suddenly became of brighter spirits. "Good news, sister!! A brown Yoshi, a Noki, two Marinotropolans, and one other... Help is on the way!!"

"Hm? Where?" Kammeo said excitedly, looking around. Once she noticed how her sister was leaning to one side and staring past their treacherous captor, she began following her example. She saw it, too. "YES!! Oh, thank GOODNESS!" the younger sibling crowed. "Oh, Kammelina, our prayers have been answered!"

Kammelina nodded. "Let's just hope they know what they're doing..."

As the approaching quintet got closer to the dubious three-some, they began to notice something strange about the one with the mace. "How inconvenient," White Rose mumbled. "'Twould seem he's not quite finished..."

Between these five people, Xoshi was the one who noticed, not just this, but something else as well: in addition to being a scaly fish man like the two he was traveling with, he noticed how this man was tall, muscular, and in possession of a strange-looking vest of armor, a big, bushy red beard, and a helmet with horns sticking out of it. The brown Yo'ster jolted. It was him! The man from the dream!! Xoshi's heartbeat rate sped up a beat as this realization dawned on him. What this could possibly mean, he could only speculate. However, there was one other thing about him that seemed to be playing a role of larger importance at the moment...

"If only there was a way to get him out of that trance..." White Rose voiced. Whatever it was they could've done, they didn't do it. All they could do at the moment was keep moving...

"...And in your name I pray..." the Viking went on. Meanwhile, behind his back, his two witch captives were still sweating and waiting.

"Come on, you slowpokes!!" Kammelina hissed. "We don't have all day! We're counting on-"

-TSSEEEWWW! ZZAPP!! Suddenly, the purple ooze that was binding the two Magikoopas was vaporized. They were free again. When the Viking heard this, he stopped his ceremony, opened his eyes and looked around. "What was that?" he said, looking around, being very confused.

Kammelina and Kammeo were hopping up and down in joy. "Free at last, sister!!" Kammeo said. Then she stopped and had a perplexed look on her face. "But who--or what--saved us?"

TSSEEWW!! "ACK!!" The two witches suddenly jumped back. Had they not have done so, that big, fat yellow laser surely would have done more damage than a blackened spot on the ocean floor.

"Well, as if THIS isn't a curse in disguise," Kammelina grumbled. She pointed forward. "Look, sister!" Soon, both Magikoopas were looking at it: a very large Melon Bug with steaming gloves on its antannae was swimming towards them, glaring at them with hateful eyes. Instead of brown shoes, it was wearing flippers.

"What is that thing?!" Kammeo griped. Once she said that, the monster's gloves began to crackle with electricity. TSSEEWWW!! It fired again.

"ACK!!" The two sisters jumped back once more. The two of them were panicked while the Viking was very confused.

"What in blazes?" he said, observing the appearance of the new threat.

"Well, it's a good thing that that thing saved our lives," Kammelina said. She pointed her palm at her discarded broomstick and used a magic force to send it skidding right back into her hand. "Now let us leave before it does anything more."

Hearing her sister say this and seeing her hop onto her broomstick, Kammeo started doing similar actions. "Indeed," she said, getting her broomstick and hopping on it as well. Within seconds, the two were off, flying desperately away from the ugly scene. Upon seeing this, the Viking was far from very happy. He scowled at the two witches, then looked at the approaching Melon Bug with just as much hatred.

"Insolent beast," he growled, gripping his mace tighter, "I'll make you pay for your deadly mistake!!" In response, the bug merely returned the glare and made its gloves sizzle with more electricity. A few seconds later, the two combatants lunged towards each other...

The group of five approaching this scene were all very befuddled. "Goodness," Marcelino said, "what's going on? What is that thing?"

"A Melon Bug," Xoshi said. "They're...trouble."

"So THAT'S what fired those lasers!" Marcellus observed. "Who knows what kind of damage that thing can do?"

"Either way, that man could use our help," White Rose said.

"Come on! Step on it!!" Marcellus urged.

"Alright," the elder Marinotropolan stated. The jet ski began to go faster...

* * *

They had to float through a forest of palm trees for a while, but it was worth it. The three of Carro, Boscis, and King Carrot had finally arrived at the entrance to Half Moon. It was a metallic door painted to camouflage like the rest of the dome. Beside it was a panel of buttons. With his two cronies behind him, the elderly King Carrot looked at it and somehow made six of the buttons push themselves in a certain order. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep... After that, the trio heard a strange noise, and the metallic door slid to the side, allowing an opening for them.

"Now let's see who's behind all this," King Carrot rasped, being the first to float through the doorway. Shortly afterwards, his two companions were inside the building as well. Then the door behind them sealed shut, leaving the three guys to wander about a deep, dark military base. They floated through its eerie hallways, basking in the silence of the vicinity. That is, they were until Boscis said something.

"Boss?" he asked. "How do you know that code?"

"King Boo told me it," King Carrot replied. "He used it himself once a while ago before he died. Thanks to him, we now have Werewolves on our sides."

"Yeah," Carro said, "they should do the trick if we really want to get rid of all those-"

The trio's floating came to a stop. They were in the room with the weapon in it. It was some type of gigantic telescope-like ray gun, taking up a good amount of the room and sticking out of a slot opening up in the round roof of the place. This allowed very little sunlight to pass through, but the three people here didn't need sight to tell that two things indeed were tearing the place apart. They could hear feet scurrying, strange grumbling noises, metal being pounded on, and sparks flying. The trio was surprised and a bit horrified. Using another invisible hand or two, Carro reached behind him and flicked the light. Click! The whole place was illuminated in white and the identity of their two adversaries was revealed: two regular-sized Melon Bugs, armed with nothing, yet still being able to make a mess of the place and its machinery like a pair of gremlins. Both of them stopped running around and began staring at the three intruders once the lights turned on.

"-Melon Bugs," Carro finished, "just what we don't want the world to have anymore."

The two Melon Bugs in question began to angrily hop up and down, grimacing at the three-some that had just entered the room.

King Carrot scowled. "Well?!" he barked. "GET THEM!!"

"Right," Carro and Boscis said. The duo of carrots floated past their leader and started charging towards the two Melon Bugs, who did the same. The fight had begun...

* * *

Effortlessly jumping through the water as though it were a place with no gravity, the Viking made swing after swing against this new opponent. In spite of its massive size, the giant Melon Bug was able to dodge each of his attacks. WHOOSH! Another swipe, another miss. The Viking was getting frustrated. Then he saw the thing's gloves beginning to light up once more. Knowing what this meant, he tried swimming away, but it was no use. ZZAAAPP!! "AAUURRGGHHH!!" The Viking was knocked down as a rather powerful laser beam just nailed him in the back. After getting off the ground and looking into the monster's eyes, he said, "Alright, I've had enough of this..." While the giant monster was busy drawing closer to its opponent, the Viking was busy putting his mace away and flexing his muscles, making them ripple and bulge all over the place. Not only that, but worms of green electricity were beginning to crawl all over his body...

* * *

Carro's Melon Bug made the first move. It curled itself into a ball, and shot forward at the carrot man. Luckily, in time, he jumped over the little monster, causing it to fly right past him and crash into one of the walls. To retaliate, the carrot turned around, glared, and jumped really high up into the air. The Melon Bug was in the middle of pulling its face out of the wall when it turned around and noticed trouble was heading its way. It saw a freaky-looking face before it, then WHAM!! It got knocked back again with a rather harsh blow from the carrot's sharp, pointy nose. Things definitely were not going in this monster's favor...

Boscis, unfortunately, was having less luck than his partner was. He was about to make the first move when his Melon Bug suddenly became a bowling ball on a collision course towards him. He wasn't fast enough. WHAM!! The carrot's face got bashed in. He moaned in agony, wondering how such a small creature could jump so high. Once he shook his head and opened his eyes, he saw the enemy was going for another attack. He gulped, dreading the worst...

As he sat back, King Carrot could see two different things: a minion of his pummeling a Melon Bug, and a Melon Bug pummeling a minion of his. The elderly carrot grumbled to himself. "Come on, boys," he said. "Hurry it up. I've got a Yoshi to outshine..."

* * *

The giant Melon Bug stared in confusion as its Viking-like opponent began to undergo some very strange changes. His body expanded and started sprouting spikes. His attire was merging with his skin, which was becoming more of a greenish color. His arms and legs were becoming longer and more spindly while they began to duplicate themselves. His mouth got bigger and wider. Its lips became thick and white and behind them were monstrous fangs. His eyes disappeared into his head as it became a darker shade of teal, complete with spots of white covering it. In the end, the Viking had become a giant, very octopus-like Piranha Plant; one with a big, teal head, and eight menacing-looking tentacles, all of them covered in vicious thorns. The newly formed Piranha Plant let out a bloodcurdling roar and lunged at its enemy, tentacles flailing...

All five of Xoshi and his four companions had become awestricken by this.

_What's going on??_ Xoshi thought, _he's a monster now??_

_Didn't I tell you?_ Beel said, _they're not ordinary people..._

Intrigued, the brown Yo'ster continued watching these two beasts go at with each other...

* * *

Carro was about to deal another blow to his Melon Bug. He reared his head back, ready to stab it with his unsightly nose. The Melon Bug saw this and began plotting. Once the carrot was ready, BAM!! He slammed his nose right into the metal floor. Stars swirled around his head as juice started leaking out of his nostrils. He cursed to himself, then looked around. He noticed that little punk was speeding about all over the place in ball form. He scowled, knowing a bit of a chase was in order. ZOOM!! The aggravating thing whizzed past him. Carro scoffed and began to hover after it...

Boscis sweated, knowing he was split-seconds away from getting bashed in the face once again. Dread overcame him as something happened the next instant. ZOOM!! Something flew right into the pointy end of his body that was just above the floor. As a result, the oversized carrot was knocked back, landing his head against the floor. BAM!! Down, but not out, the damaged carrot saw a Melon Bug sail over his head. He painfully looked to the right and saw another one was rolling around everywhere. In the next second, WHOOSH! His partner, Carro, had jumped over him as well. He took note that at least one of them was making progress. Then WHUMP!! He got the wind knocked out of him. He looked up, noticing his Melon Bug had proceded in jumping up and down on his stomach. The misfortuned carrot groaned, wondering what he was to do...

King Carrot had seen enough. He growled with an extra ugly look on his face and began to hover away from his original spot. "You boys are pathetic..."

* * *

The giant Piranha Plant lashed a thorny tentacle out at the Melon Bug. WHACK!! The thing was knocked aside, developing a few new holes in its body where the tentacle struck. It spun threw the water a little, then righted itself, just in time to see the Piranha Plant closing in on him with its huge mouth open. CHOMP!! The creature sank its teeth right into the flesh of the Melon Bug's chest. The round monster groaned in agony as it felt more holes being drilled into its form. Before it could take any more, it let its gloves sizzle with little bolts of elecricity again, and ZZAAAPP!! With a rather large scorch mark burned into its massive forehead, the giant Pirahna Plant released its grip and went flying back, roaring in pain. In a few seconds, both monsters were glaring at each other once again. Roaring in fury, they lunged at each other once more, tentacles flailing and gloves sparking...

Carro continued chasing around his Melon Bug. It was getting quite tiresome. More than enough times he saw control panels, the weapon, and more control panels fly past him. He decided this little monster had been leading him around in circles long enough. At some point, he skidded to a stop and leapt really high up into the air as he did before. From the Melon Bug's perspective, this meant its opponent had mysteriously disappeared. Once it realized this, it stopped running and began to look confused. Then it saw that it was covered in someone else's shadow. It looked up and went bug-eyed. Carro was grinning mischievously at it. It wouldn't be long now...

WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! Boscis feared the worst. He was being obliterated by something less than half his size, and he wasn't sure how much more his gut could take. Silently, he prayed for a miracle. Then he heard it; BAM!! Moving his head ever so slightly, he could make out that his partner, Carro, had successfully drilled a big, bleeding hole into the stomach of his round opponent. Carro was smirking in satisfaction. One Melon Bug had been turned into a sloppy doughnut lying on the ground, not even twitching. This was good, but WHUMP!! Boscis had bigger things to worry about. Then...

WHACK!! A flash of green, and the Melon Bug was off his stomach. Boscis looked up and saw the boss had entered the fray. He was slashing away at the annoying Melon Bug with strike after strike from the long leaves protruding from his head, each of them landing blows and making bloody gashes like a cat o' nine tails. All three carrots could see that this Melon Bug was going to buy it and soon. At last, the elderly carrot had it backed into a corner. He scowled at it as it wobbled back and forth, covered in a thick, dark green liquid. Finally, King Carrot topped it off. SHUNK!! He kept it there for about a second, and then he pulled it out, taking a fair amount of gunk with it. The carrot had used his long, pointy nose to stab right into the center of the Melon Bug's head and into its body. It stood for a moment, then flopped onto its back, dead as dust. The old carrot grimaced at his handiwork.

"Heh heh heh. Way to hand it to that little creep, boss!" he heard Carro say behind him. The superior carrot turned and looked at him, then at Boscis was lying on the ground, rasping for air.

"Yeah..." he wheezed, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Really...whooped...him...good." Boscis swallowed and panted some more. "I'll...just...lie down...for a while...if that's...okay with you..."

King Carrot tisked. "You're worthless, Boscis," he said. "Couldn't even get one scratch on'im."

"I know," Boscis panted. "Sorry, boss..."

"Ehhh," King Carrot grunted. "Just rest a moment and Carro and I'll get this place cleaned up."

Boscis just wheezed in response. After that, Carro floated over to the Melon Bug he had just slain, and King Carrot floated over to the one he did in. While he was at it, the boss was thinking to himself. _Sooner or later, all the Melon Bugs in this world will be gone...and that Yoshi at the casino will be eating my dust..._

* * *

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! TSEWW! TSEWW! Both the Piranha Plant and the giant Melon Bug fought hard. The Piranha Plant kept whipping its thorny tentacles out at the Melon Bug, and the Melon Bug kept firing yellow lasers at the Piranha Plant. Then WHACK! ZAP!! The Melon Bug got another wound slammed into it, and the tip of one of the Piranha Plant's tentacles got singed. The Piranha Plant looked at its opponent and snarled. The Melon Bug glared back as usual.

_Well, you hideous beast,_ the Piranha Plant thought, _that's not ALL I have up my sleeve..._

The Piranha Plant leaned its head back, gathering something in its mouth. When the time was right, it lunged its head forward with its mouth agape, and began firing. SPLUT! SPLUT! SPLUT! It was firing blobs of purple ooze at the Melon Bug, but, unfortunately, not even this was enough. Each one got fried to oblivion with precise aiming and firing from the Melon Bug. SPLAT!! It suddenly got some of that gunk all over one of its sides. It slipped up THAT time. It continued to fire, just as its enemy did.

From far away, Xoshi and the others could see constant flashes of purple and yellow going on between the two monsters. Who was having the upper hand? They couldn't tell. They watched this drag on until...

TSSEEWWW!! This time, the Melon Bug's attack counted. Just when it was about to fire another blob out of it, the Melon Bug had succeeded in sending a nice, big, fat laser down the beast's throat. With that, the barrage of purple ooze had stopped, and the Piranha Plant began to flail its tentacles, choking on the smoky water trailing out of its throat. The five-some on the jet ski saw this and soon became worried, especially since, in addition to this, the Piranha Plant was beginning to shrink back into its Marinotropolan Viking self again. That, and the Melon Bug was beginning to advance on this choking individual.

_Oh no,_ Xoshi fretted. _What now??_

_We help him,_ Beel replied.

_How?_

_Well..._

"This is not good," White Rose said. "Is there nothing we can do?"

"Nope!" Xoshi said. Everyone watched as he suddenly stood up, holding a wand in his hand bearing a green jewel. His other hand was cupped next to his mouth. "HEY!! LEIF!!"

Hearing his name, the Viking suddenly looked to his right and finally saw this quintet headed towards him. While still clutching at his throat, he thought, _Who is he and how does he know my name?_

"CATCH!!" Xoshi yelled. With that, he threw the wand, sending it hurdling through the water towards the Viking.

_Nevermind that,_ Leif thought. He took his hands away from his smoking throat and FWIP! He caught the wand. Once he did so, ZZIINNGG!! The Viking could feel an intense vibration flowing throughout his body. Surely, this was no ordinary wand. He called out to the brown guy that had just tossed him this.

"WHAT IS THIS??" he said.

"JUST USE IT!!" Xoshi yelled back.

Leif stared back for a second, then nodded. He looked at the oncoming Melon Bug and decided it was then or never. Not quite knowing how, he summoned that holy energy he had felt a second ago, aimed his wand at his opponent, and concentrated with all his might. Feeling the odd sensation squirming throughout him, Leif had done it. FFWWOOOSSHHH!! The Melon Bug suddenly stopped in its tracks and looked horrified, seeing a massive spider web of thorn-covered vines in front of it all of a sudden. It didn't even get the chance to twitch. All six of Xoshi, White Rose, Marcelino, Marcellus, the old Noki, and Leif could see that the monster had instantly been wrapped up in a cocoon of thorns. However, even then it wasn't over. Conjuring up more of this strange energy he managed to discover earlier, Leif finally added the finishing touches. One second later, GIISSSHHH!! The vines coming out of the tip of his wand suddenly tightened so hard, they went right through the monster. Huge blobs of dark green blood went flying out of the cracks between them. Leif smirked and did another spell, sucking the vines back into his wand. He could see that all that was left of the Melon Bug was its oddly-colored blood dissipating into the water. He looked at his wand, staring at it with a great amount of satisfaction and wonder. Surely, this was the beginning of something big...

TWO DOWN  
FIVE TO GO

"GREAT JOB, LEIF!!" The Viking jerked his head to the right and saw that the jet ski was finally right in front of him. One of its passengers, a young Marinotropolan was clapping very heartily. Marcellus had been quite impressed by this man's performance and wasn't afraid to show it. The other four guys were looking quite pleased as well.

"Um, thank you," Leif said. "But I must ask, who are you and how do you know my name? What is this wand you have given me?"

White Rose stood up. "They call me White Rose," he said. "This here is Xoshi, and these are the people that helped us find you." Each of the four people the knight mentioned waved and nodded as they were gestured to. Leif nodded back. "Now, Sir Leif, you may find this rather difficult to believe, but Xoshi and I are on a quest given to us by the Star Spirits themselves."

Leif widened his eyes. "Is this true??" he blurted.

White Rose nodded. "Yes. Xoshi, here, must find seven people and give seven wands to them. As you can see..." The swordsman pulled out something. Leif noticed it looked very similar to the wand he was holding, but its jewel was red instead of green. "...You and I are two of them."

Interestedly, the Viking looked back and forth at the two wands. Then he looked at the mysterious swordsman. "And what are we to do with them?" he asked.

"We are to take on something known as the oncoming evil. Unless we don't, the world may come to an end," White Rose summarized.

Leif's expression soon became very grave. He held his bristly chin in one of his scaly hands. "Hmm..." he said. "That sounds very serious..." He took his hand away from his chin and looked at the knight. "Well," the Viking said, "if its what the Star Spirits want, then I shall do it. And if witches are in store for us, then nothing's holding me back. They don't call me Leif Erripipe the witch-hunter for nothing."

Xoshi started looking happy. "Then..."

"I'm going with you," the Viking declared, pumping one of his arms dramatically.

"Excellent! Well then, sonny, hop aboard!" the Noki said. Once the newly recruited Marinotropolan had done so, Marcelino could get the journey going again.

"Where shall we go next?" Marcelino asked.

Before answering, Xoshi consulted with Beel for a bit. "Back to Silicon," he said. "Our journey continues there."

"Silicon it is," Marcelino said. Then the jet ski started hovering through the water once again. All the while, five of these people could begin talking amongst themselves, sharing things about who they were and where they were from. Xoshi, being the quiet one at the moment, could just listen and think to himself.

_So that old Noki's from Isle Delfino,_ he thought. The brown Yo'ster gave a sigh at this. _That's where we were SUPPOSED to go. But then..._ The Yoshi shook his head. He tilted his head upward, looking at the collage of waves and the sun glistening through them way above them. Things were just so complicated. _I wonder what the others are doing..._

* * *

Jalen's Jewelry; that was the name of the store Yazzee and SPOWT were about to enter. They had to navigate through Delfino Plaza a bit, but this was definitely the place.

"Shall we go in?" Yazze asked the odd machine on his back.

_"Affirmative."_

"Alrighty then." The duo did just that. Immediately, the yellow Yo'ster was surrounded by glass case after glass case of all kinds of things. Bracelets, pendants, charms, rings, necklaces, tiaras, crowns, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, gold, silver, white gold... Everything Yazzee could think of and couldn't think of was there. In fact, he could have sworn that some of these materials had just been discovered...

"See anything you like, sir?" a Pianta in a business suit said. He was standing a few inches away from the Yo'ster.

Yazzee grinned. "Yup..."

CHA-CHING! "Thank you very much, sir!"

"Don't sweat it."

In a few moments, Yazzee was able to walk out of the store in satisfaction. Thanks to the clerk he had just dumped an uncanny amount of massive coin-filled bags on, he was strutting around in an unbelievable amount of jewelry. Nothing was spared. His ankles, his wrists, his neck, his fingers, his forhead, his saddle, his tail... All of them were almost completely covered in expensive jewels. He even had a crown resting atop his head. With this costly makeover, Yazzee had become a brilliant creature shining with every color of the rainbow and then some. Since it was all so shiny and the sun was up, people could have gone blind just by looking at such luxery. The Yoshi himself was very happy.

"Boy," he said, walking away from the store, making his pricey accessories jingle as he did so, "wait until Yoshi and the others get a load of this..."

* * *

"It was a disaster, Kammelina!"

"I know. But look on the bright side: we got the blood!"

"That, we did." The two witches were at last out of their bubbles and back in oxygen-rich air. To be more precise, they were flying above Lava Lava Island as they did before. "Hmm..." This time, as they looked down, they saw, not a giant Raven talking to a bunch of Yoshies, but rather a bunch of Yoshies all doing various things. Some were sitting and talking, others were playing, and a few of them were just going for a walk. The witches noticed how three of them--a green one, a magenta one, and a dark orange one--were talking to each other, although one of them seemed to be having a bit of trouble doing so.

"Yoshi like fruit," he said.

The dark orange one shook his head. "No, no, no. _'I_ like fruit.'"

"Yoo-shi like fruit," the green one replied.

"Not me, YOU."

"Me like fruit."

"Oi..." The Magikoopas saw the magenta one chuckling to himself. They also saw a periwinkle Yoshi walking around with one other: a fat red one.

"Man, chief, this is great," the periwinkle one said. "Thanks to Raphael, EVERYTHING'S back to normal!"

"Indeed," the chief said. "It's good to know we no longer have anything to worry about."

"Yup!"

Kammelina and Kammeo watched as these two people walked right past a few bushes. They could tell that this was probably something they shouldn't have done since ignoring the bush meant ignoring the two eyes scowling at them from behind the bush's leaves. The two witches tittered.

"Poor Yoshies," Kammelina said. "Little do they know they're about to go through what WE did."

"They don't stand a chance," Kammeo commented.

"Well, come on, sister," Kammelina said. "Let's go give that potion another whirl."

"Right." Their short visit was over. The witches continued flying through the air, on their way back to their cottage of candy...

* * *

As the jet ski went on with its floating through the water, Leif was busy thinking to himself. _I can't believe I let those blasted witches get away,_ he thought. He then looked down at the mace he had in his lap. The Viking made a promise to himself. _One way or another...I won't ever make that same mistake again. The Star Spirits are counting on me..._


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**  
A giant walking, talking wooden soldier with a key rotating in his back walked down the high-raised aisle of a certain building. He could see through the railing rimming the path the various rooms of his base down below. Looking around, he could only see things that made him smile in satisfaction. Here, he saw Chuckyas floating around, patrolling the vicinity; there, he saw table after table of Bob-Ombs making numerous different explosives by hand; and in the other direction, he saw Bob-Ombs working on an assembly line, one that kept producing one mechanical Bob-Omb with digital eyes after another. The woman that was following him also had a smile on her face, but it wasn't as noticeable.

"Everyting is going good, da?" said the soldier in a strange accent. "Soon, entire world will be bowing down, answering to dhe might of General Wind-up..."

"Yes, sir," the woman agreed. The devious duo trekked on, continuing to watch the progress of their minions as they did so. This carried on until a grey Bob-Omb with a white mustache walked out of a room and right in front of them. The fuse sticking out of his head had its strands unraveled and splaying out like wild hair.

"Ah! General Vind-up! Larva! So gut to see you!" the Bob-Omb said. His dialect suggested a foreign origin.

"And good to see you, Albert," Wind-up replied.

"Come," the Bob-Omb named Albert said, beginning to walk back into the room he had just left, "I vant to show you somezhing." General Wind-up and Larva followed him. Soon, the three people were in a laboratory, decorated with various Bob-Ombs, all of them working diligently on an assortment of things. In the middle of this gigantic room was a humungous machine of some sort. It seemed to be composed of four electric chairs to the left and a conveyor belt coming from a huge, rectangular opening to the right. Albert began to explain it. "I call it der Einamizer 2000," he said. "You strap ein or more very strong people in zhose seats, und it sucks der energy out of zhem. Moments later, it creates a beast of monstrous proportions..."

General Wind-up rubbed his chin, a smug look on his face. "So dhose people we captured..."

"...Vill get vhat zhey deserve."

The general removed the hand from his face. He began to grin devilishly. "And in turn, we get anodher weapon..." Albert nodded. Wind-up laughed. "Albert Einamite, you never cease to amaze me." The wooden soldier turned around and faced the woman. "Larva," he said, "go and get prisoners."

Larva bowed to the man. "At once, sir," she said. She turned around and began to walk out of the room, leaving General Wind-up and Albert Einamite behind. As she did so, she began grinning to herself.

_With these new advantages,_ she thought, _the world may begin begging for mercy sooner than expected..._

* * *

The sun had risen, the fire was out, and it was finally time for two 8-Bits to continue their journey. Both were standing, getting ready for what was ahead of them. In the morning light, they could see that this place was covered in palm trees, all of them with yellow bark and red, plumy leaves. It was a strange sight.

Not for Laser Snifit, however. While he was still stretching to get his muscles straightened out after last night's rest, his gigantic partner was hopping from his left foot to his right, all the while keeping his dukes up. He was sparring with an invisible enemy.

"Well," the big Shy Guy said, "I don't know about you, Snifit..." The muscle man threw a particularly strong punch to his unseen opponent. "...But I'M ready!"

Laser Snifit looked at his companion in disbelief. _How can that guy be so energetic?_ he wondered. The small Snifit stretched some more.

"Yeah, I'm ready, too," he replied.

"ALRIGHT!" Big Guy yelled. He stopped dancing and got into a defiant stance. He swung his right arm back and thrust it forward. "FOLLOW ME!!" ZOOM! The brute sped off. His sudden increase in speed left Laser Snifit in a mass of dust clouds. He coughed a bit.

_Geez, what a freak,_ he thought. Soon, he was running, too...

_Don't worry, guys,_ Big Guy thought as he ran. _We're coming!..._

* * *

Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss had resumed their journey as well. Together, this quartet was wandering through the unusual palm tree forest of Bobbus Island. Their march was complimented by the sun shining down upon them. Regardless, happiness did not seem to be the dominant emotion of the group.

"Wo gehen wir, madame?" the boys said.

"Somewhere on this island, there is a base," the woman replied. "Inside of it, there's an army of Bob-Ombs plotting to take over the world. Unless we take care of them and their leader, General Wind-up, and quick, we may cause many an innocent life to be taken. After all, death is not for those who don't deserve it."

Tessa looked a bit confused. "We won't have to kill him, will we, Annie?" she asked.

"If it is necessary, yes, we will, dear," Annabyss stated. "Whatever the case, the fate of one individual does not outweigh that of the entire world."

"Hmm..." Hearing this, Tessa began to get some more deep thinking done as she walked on with her other three teammates.

Their journey continued for a few minutes longer. Many strange-looking palm trees had been put behind them during this. After a while, the two of Wario and Waluigi got to speaking up again.

"Wie viel länger, madame?" they said.

Annabyss suddenly stopped. The other three did the same. "Soon," she said. Her next move was to step to her right and start hiding behind one of the palm trees. Once again, the others began to follow her example. Then the four of them found themselves peeking past the palm tree at the spectacle ahead of them: an amazingly humungous metallic dome in the middle of these woods that was painted with splotches of red and yellow so it could blend in with its surroundings. "Full Moon," Annabyss said. "The replacement for Half Moon." Looking at what appeared to them to be the right side of this place, the four-some could make out a duo of Bob-Ombs walking up to two others that looked as though they were guarding the entance to this place.

"So, how'd it go?" said one of the guardinig Bob-Ombs.

"Wonderful," said the one in front of him. "The shipment'll be here soon enough."

"Good."

Tessa was a bit worried. "So, what do we do now, Annie?"

"Either we fight them, or we find a way to sneak in," she said.

The group of four could see that this small group of Bob-Ombs were in the middle of opening up the gigantic, metal door leading to the inside of their base, blissfully unaware that another group was nearby and plotting against them. Then they heard something unusual. It grabbed their attention and they were suddenly on their guard.

"Wait a minute," one of the Bob-Ombs said, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like someone was saying something about beating us up..."

_Blast,_ Annabyss thought. _Have they found us out?_

The Bob-Ombs all began taking on some fighting stances. They were looking around very cautiously.

"Whoever it may be, they picked the wrong people to mess with," one of the Bob-Ombs said. Tension was in the air all around. Something most definitely was going to happen to them and soon. Finally, it did so.

"HIII-YYAAAAAAA!!!"

"I TOLD YOU, NO!!"

At that second, a blur of orange fur flew out from behind one of the palm trees and smashed something blunt right on top of the head of one of the Bob-Ombs. WHAM!! Soon after that, he was little more than a wick sticking out of the ground. With his club in hand and an embarrassed Laser Snifit behind him, Big Guy stood back and admired his handiwork. The other Bob-Ombs first looked shocked, then angered. Big Guy returned the look. "So?" he said. "Anyone else?"

The Bob-Ombs growled. "LET'S GET'EM!!" one yelled. Against three angry Bob-Ombs, an excited Big Guy and a reluctant Laser Snifit were ready to fight.

One Bob-Omb ran up to Big Guy while he had his club raised. One of them was faster than the other. WHAM!! Big Guy dropped his club and started hopping around on one foot, clutching at the space beneath his knee. While he was in the middle of hopping around and grunting in pain, two other Bob-Ombs were about to attack some more...

TSEW! TSEW! The Bob-Omb Laser Snifit was dealing with had managed to successfully jump straight through both of his hoop-shaped lasers. This frustrated the grey 8-Bit. The next thing he knew, the little pest was right in front of him, ready to slam his face into him. WHOOSH! Made it. Laser Snifit jumped to the side just in time. The Bob-Omb went staggering. Now was his chance. Laser Snifit fired another laser. TSEW!! The 8-Bit looked shocked. What he had done was worse than missing his opponent; he had lit his fuse! The Bob-Omb had suddenly turned red and began to charge towards Laser Snifit, an enraged look on its face. The lab coat-donning man was in a jam...

Big Guy's two Bob-Ombs had him in a pincer attack. Both were in the middle of running towards the muscle man when suddenly, SHWOOP! The big lug slipped on the club he had dropped earlier, sending it flying at one of the Bob-Ombs and himself falling backwards. WHONK! The club nailed the Bob-Omb right in the face, and he was out. As for the other Bob-Omb, he had noticed this turn of events a bit too late. He had ran right beneath their overgrown opponent and was in the process of skidding to a stop as not to bump into his fallen ally. Then he paid for his second mistake. BAM!! Without even getting to look up, Big Guy's heel had gotten to slam him into the ground as he landed on his back, still clutching at his knee. At that point, only one enemy remained...

Laser Snifit had only a few more split seconds to think it over. What was he to do against this charging Bob-Omb? Not explode, that's for sure. Then he saw the red thing right in front of him. Its wick had been completely replaced by a little spark. Laser Snifit had no other choice. BAM!! Like a football, he punted the sorry thing through the air. Seeing where it was headed, the four of Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss all ducked. KA-BOOOMM!! In a nice, big, fiery explosion, the upper halves of their palm trees had been blown, but not their cover. Looking up, they could see this battle had been won by this mysterious pair of 8-Bits. The grey one blew out some air in relief and approached his larger companion, who was still writhing on the ground in agony.

"It hurts!! It hurts!!" he moaned.

"Oh, quit blubbering. Let's just go in already," Snifit retorted. Big Guy didn't find that a very easy thing to do. Eventually, Big Guy finally had his club back and was back on his feet, but was still rubbing at where he got hit earlier. Laser Snifit shook his head and walked in before him. Big Guy eventually dragged himself after him. All that was left of the scene were a few defeated Bob-Ombs lying around. Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss were impressed.

"They're good," Annabyss commented. "A bit graceless, but good."

"What now, Annie?" Tessa asked. The elder woman looked around. In the other direction, she could see something approaching.

"Remain still," she instructed. In a few moments, a line of storage trucks had arrived, all of them with tarps strapping down their loads and painted in the same type of camouflage as the base was. Once the one up front slowed down before the entrance of this place, the others slowed down as well. Two Bob-Bombs hopped out of the one up front. Together, they examined what had become of three of their allies, and dragged them aboard. After that, the trucks got going again. One by one, they were all disappearing into the base. Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss watched each of them go by like carts on a train. At one point, Annabyss began to give further instructions. "Wait here," she said. She turned herself into a Yoshi and hopped into an opening in the tarp of the last truck. Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa watched as she disappeared into the storage. Then ZIPP!! A long, shadowy tongue shot out of nowhere, and wrapped itself around the three-some like a snake. WHOOOSH!! The tongue whipped them out from behind the trees and into the truck. After that, Annabyss spat out her three companions and returned to her normal self. The group of four then began to hide between stacks of crates and enjoy the ride.

_Infiltration,_ Annabyss thought as the tarp above their heads went from being brightened by the sun to being darkened by the tunnel, _complete..._

* * *

CLANG! Hyrg and Galileo's swords slammed into each other, letting sparks of black and teal start flying. The two of them jumped back, holding their weapons in front of them and staring each other down. They were in a large, wooden room, illuminated slightly by the high-raised windows surrounding it. It was Hyrg's third day in this strange place, and he was spending it sparring with his new teacher in a dojo of some sort.

"Good," his professor said to him, "but let's see how you do against THIS!" The anthropomorphic wolf rushed forward with his sword pointed downward. Once he was close enough to the boy, CLANG!! He swung it upward, and Hyrg blocked it as he did before, but then SHING! He jumped back, sliding the sword away from his opponent in the process. Had he not have done that, Galileo's leg most definitely would have succeeded in tripping him. "Excellent," the wolf complimented. "Now, come on! Retaliate!!" he demanded. "Pretend I'm one of the Black Jewel's mummies, and come get me!!"

_Have it your way,_ Hyrg thought darkly. He sped towards his opponent once more...

* * *

"What happened?"

"I dunno. Someone kicked the crap out of'em, I suppose."

"Well, whatever. Let's get 'em out of here!!"

After talking to one of the regular black ones, six white Bob-Ombs got to carting off the three that got beaten up earlier with a set of stretchers. The black one took a moment to watch them go. "Well, back to work, I guess." He turned around and wandered back into the warehouse where all the trucks were.

In his wake, he left a rather large pile of stacked crates. From behind it, two heads poked out. "Okay, Snifit! The coast is clear!"

"Alright." After that, the two of Big Guy and Laser Snifit could commence sneaking out of there and heading down a certain hallway. Two of Full Moon's intruders had slipped through their fingers, and the other four were about to be exposed...

"I'm tellin' ya, I saw somethin' in there!" the black Bob-Omb heard. He was being led to one of the trucks by another black Bob-Omb like him.

"Alright, keep your pants on," the other Bob-Omb replied. He walked up to the aforementioned truck. In the back, its tarp had been peeled back so the Bob-Omb had a nice opening to hop into.

"They're looking for us," Tessa quietly commented. The Bob-Omb in question began investigating the truck. His companion behind him watched and waited anxiously as he searched the cracks between all the crates.

Nothing here... Nothing there... Where were they? Up front, perhaps? The shadow of the tarp was cast over the Bob-Omb as he walked beneath it and furthered his investigation.

Carefully, he kept his eyes peeled. Between those crates, he didn't find anything. Behind those other ones, he found only dust. This was getting tiresome. At last, there was but one place to look left: the dark place in the very back...

The four of Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss waited for the inevitable. That Bob-Omb had only a few more seconds...

Even the Bob-Omb outside the truck was getting impatient. "Well?" he called. "Didja find anything yet?" No answer. "WELL??" he called again. Then he hopped onto the truck and began walking slowly down the aisle of crates. Once the darkness fell over him, something popped out of nowhere and right in front of him. "GAAHHH!!" he shrieked.

"Relax, you spaz. It's just me," the other Bob-Omb said.

"Oh, phew," the startled one said. He breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down some. "Well?" he added.

The other Bob-Omb shook his head. "No luck. Maybe you were just imagining things."

"WHAT?!" the other one blurted. "I was SURE I saw something..." He ran past the other Bob-Omb and began to investigate himself. "Hmm..." The Bob-Omb he left behind just shook his head.

Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa chuckled to themselves. "They'll never find us," she pointed out. They had seen the whole thing through one of the grids of the air ducts hanging above all those trucks and crates.

"Tessa, dear, you're a master of finding secret routes," Annabyss praised.

Tessa giggled. "Thanks," she said.

"Now then," the older woman said, "we find General Wind-up..." The other three vocalized their agreements and the quartet continued crawling through the frigid tunnel...

* * *

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Hyrg and Galileo were still going at it with each other. Unfortunately for Hyrg, the fight had reached the point where he was backing up each time he blocked one of Galileo's blows. Sweat trickled down his face each time he brought that blade up to protect himself from the other one. CLANG! His heart was racing, but that wasn't helping him. CLANG! His arms and legs alike were getting worn out. CLANG!! WHUMP! His back hit the wall. Hyrg was disoriented. Fear struck him as he saw Galileo pull his sword back. Then came the plunge.

SHUNK! Hyrg's eyes were clenched shut. He dreaded the worst. Once he realized it had not come, he popped his left eye open. His gaze looked first at Galileo's fierce, yellow eyes. He let it go down the man's arm and to where his sword's blow had landed: into the wall beneath his left arm. Hyrg was confused, but relieved. Galileo pulled the sword out, allowing his pupil to drop his arms. The teacher made a shaking movement with his head.

"Killer intent, Hyrg," he said. "Unless you have that, you'll never learn." The boy grimaced and kicked at the floor. "Well, come on," the man said as he began walking away. "I guess we've earned a break." Hyrg sighed, calmed himself, and began walking after his teacher.

_This is tougher than I thought,_ Hyrg observed...

* * *

"Just a little further, Snifit!"

"I still don't know about this..."

In a dank cell somewhere, four people couldn't help but mope about. They consisted of a Snifit with a green robe and a brown belt around his waist, a pint-sized Shy Guy donned in a lighter green robe with overtly large eyeholes in his mask, a regular-sized Boo Guy with a robe made of purple glitter, and a Shy Guy with a grey robe. Exactly what they could have done to have been in higher spirits was beyond them.

"Life be a cruel mistress, aye?" said the Snifit. "Had we have known that tangling with forces greater than ourselves would only end in ruin, we would not be here, wasting away, but alas..."

"It's not fair, it's not fair, IT'S NOT FAIR!!" the little one raved.

"Fair is for the weak," the Boo Guy rasped. "We get what we deserve..."

"Yeah..." said the grey one.

"Thus the Shy Gang comes to a fitting end," the Snifit lamented. "Life is just..." To respond, the other three murmured in agreement. Then the unexpected came.

"Or...is it?" The four former members of the Shy Gang turned around and saw straight through the bars a giant Shy Guy and a Snifit wearing a lab coat. The big one was looking triumphant whereas the little one was just looking shocked. "Toldja we'd find'em here," the big one bragged to his partner.

The other four 8-Bits were just looking confused. "Strangers!" the green Snifit said. "Explain theyselves! Who wouldst thou be? What has brought thee here?"

Big Guy looked a bit disheartened. "Come on, Robin Hifit! Don't you remember us? We worked together when that wooden doll thing attacked us!"

"Hm?!" the one named Robin Hifit grunted.

"It's us, Shy Guy and Snifit," Big Guy's cohort began. "I know we may look different now, but there's really no time to explain. We're here to break you out!"

"Hold!" Robin Hifit exclaimed. "I know that voice..." The green 8-Bit thought hard for a second. Finally, he had it. "SNIFIT! By the gods, thou hast returned! Oh, glory in heaven! Small Fry! Crystal Guy! Grey Guy! The tides turneth!!"

"YAAAYYY!!" the small Shy Guy cheered as he hopped up and down. "We're saved! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!"

"Heh. Even a desert gets rain now and then," the glittery Boo Guy commented.

"Yay..." said the grey Shy Guy.

Big Guy looked happy again. "Alright guys," he said as he began cracking his knuckles, "just stand back! We'll have you outta there in no time..." Soon, Big Guy had his hands on the bars. ERRKK!! Just by pulling on them was he able to bend them apart. Two makeshift doorways for the prisoners were on their way. "Rrg..." Big Guy grunted as he pried. "Just...a little bit...more..."

"Um, Big Guy..." Snifit said.

"WHAT?!" the enormous Shy Guy blurted, oblivious to what the other ten eyes in the area were looking at. Once he noticed this and started looking confused, he stopped the prying. His companion pointed behind him. He turned around and was seeing it as well. He yelped and jumped back, nearly bumping into Snifit.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" the woman said. Her height was average. She was wearing a billowy, princess-like dress with strange red and yellow patterns all over it. Its color-combination reminded the 8-Bits of the exterior of the base, but its arrangement of spots and other strange shapes reminded them more of caterpillars. The bottom of it was rimmed with balls of red that were all between others of yellow. The dress turned out to be quite revealing and seemed to shamelessly unveil the tremendous size of her bosom. Across it, she was wearing a silver necklace with a center of three circular blue gems stacked on top of one another, all of them surrounded by silver. The one on top had two smaller ones sticking out of it like antennae. She wore a silver band around her neck with a similar-looking piece of jewelry in the middle. For some reason, the parts of the dress that covered her shoulders looked perfectly like two balls of red. Just above her elbows were two more. The spheres were connected by two others of yellow. Her arms were crossed and were donned in shiny black gloves, and her wrists had numerous bracelets to boast of. Strangely, each of her hands had three fingers on them. Her face didn't look very happy. It was pretty, but also rather pale and menacing. Her lips were thick and glossy, complete with a layer of some very dark red lipstick. There was a rather prominent beauty spot at the center of both her cheeks. Her nose was small and upturned. Her ears were long, pointy, oddly-shaped, and wearing earings that looked like the necklace on her chest. Her eyebrows were dark red and very curvy. They were above two blue eyelids that were rimmed with extra thick, extra long, almost spider-like eyelashes. Her eyes themselves were wide and slanted. The color in them was dark red to match her lips and her eyebrows. They were so shiny, they seemed to resemble perfectly a pair of rubies. To top it all off, her brow was sporting a tiara that looked similar to the accessory of her neck, and her hair was very long and dark red. The front two locks of it came out in two lengthy antennae-like appendiges dangling before her face. The rest of it was braided and trailing behind her. Thanks to the scrunchy black hair tie at the bottom of it and the way there were two tufts of hair sticking out from underneath it, it looked like another caterpillar on the woman.

Overall, she appeared to be very beautiful, yet, strangely, very caterpillar-oriented. However, this was not the time to be marveling at her appearance. She was, after all, looking very displeased. That, and behind her were six Chuckyas floating around and twitching in anticipation.

"Trying to free them, are you?" the woman accused.

"Hey, lady," Big Guy said, once his hands were free from the bars, "who are you?"

"Larva, Mistress of Wigglers," she said as she lowered her arms to her waist. One of them came up and snapped its fingers loudly. That was when two of the Chuckyas behind her zipped forward and grabbed a hold of Big Guy and Laser Snifit.

"What the-" they said as the Chuckyas began holding them above their heads in their ball-like hands. The next thing they knew, they were hurtling through the air. The Chuckyas had chucked them! "AAAAUUUGGHHH!!" BAM!! Their heads hit the stone wall at the end of the hallway. Big Guy and Laser Snifit slid to the floor. Both were seeing stars.

"SHY GUY! SNIFIT!!" Robin Hifit and Small Fry were hysterical. Crystal Guy was less so, and Grey Guy didn't seem to be showing any sort of emotion.

"Shy Guy and Snifit," Larva muttered, "are down for the count." She snapped her fingers again. This time, the other four Chuckyas behind her unlocked the gate to the cell of the prisoners the traditional way, headed on in, and grabbed the four people behind it, ignoring their protests. "Time for your punishment," Larva said to them. She then began leading them and her Chuckyas down the other end of the hallway.

"HELP!! SOMEONE HELP US!! HELP!!!" Robin Hifit and Small Fry were still screaming. It was beginning to grate Larva's nerves.

"Annoying, little..." she grumbled.

"NOT...so...fast..." she heard. In a very systematic fashion, once she stopped and turned around, the Chuckyas did so as well in perfect synchronization. They found that Big Guy and Laser Snifit were back on their feet. However, Big Guy was breathing heavily and Laser Snifit was still rubbing the sore spot in his head. "They're our friends!" Big Guy yelled. "You can't have them!!"

Larva scowled at them. She snapped her fingers and ZIP!! Big Guy and Laser Snifit were in the Chuckyas' clutches again. This time, though, they did not chuck them. They merely continued to float along with the other Chuckyas and Larva down the hall.

"HEY, PUT US DOWN!!" Snifit yelled.

"YOU'LL BE SORRY!!" Big Guy threatened. As he squirmed in this thing's grasp, he couldn't help but wonder why they kept having such trouble with these Chuckyas.

"Not likely," Larva commented as she continued leading her Chuckyas down the hall. All the while, their six prisoners just kept struggling and protesting. It seemed hopeless.

_Damn it,_ Big Guy thought, _we're finally reunited and look what happens! Well, this aint over yet..._

* * *

Hyrg and Galileo were resting beneath one of the trees of a different courtyard of the Death Sickles' secret hideout. This was was encased within a tall and vast rectangular wall. Running through the middle of it was a road of wood leading to the inside of the place. It came from a gigantic gate on the other side. There were other Death Sickles in this area. They seemed to all be enjoying themselves as well. In the meantime, Hyrg and Galileo were busy consuming some drumsticks.

It was a warm day. The grass was cushy, the clouds were fluffy, birds were singing, and the sun was shining through the leaves of Hyrg and Galileo's tree, giving them a nice, green glow. Galileo chewed and swallowed another bite of his meal.

"You like nature much, Hyrg?" he asked.

The boy sent another morsel down his throat before answering. "It's okay, I guess."

Galileo chuckled a bit. "Well, this forest is full of it. If you think about it, it's the perfect place for our hideout to be."

Hyrg swallowed again and began to look around. Galileo had a point. Not even he could deny how nicely all those big, bushy green trees looked from behind the walls. In this courtyard, beneath the sun, there were even people dancing. Hyrg found it hard to believe that this was the same place he noticed earlier to be filled with such creepy-looking people. "I guess you're right," the boy conceded.

"Hm-hm," Galileo said. The two continued eating for a while. At some point during their meal, something got their heads to turn towards the gate. Its doors burst open and in walked two Death Sickles. One of them was male, muscular, and over eight feet tall. The other one was female, petite, and over five feet tall. She was helping the bigger one trudge along who was grasping at a spot in his brutal arm that was letting some red fluid soak through. Once they neared Galileo and Hyrg, the wolf grabbed their attention. "Yo! Alexander! Kitty! How'd it go?"

Hyrg noticed how both of these Death Sickles looked very different from most of them. For one, their skin was peachy-colored and not grey, and their eyes were dark and not yellow. They also didn't have stitches going across their foreheads let alone bolts sticking out of their necks or long, pointy black fingernails. To Hyrg, these people looked pretty normal.

However, like most Death Sickles, they still had their fair share of odd physical features. In addition to being gigantic, the one named Alixander had a smooth, brown beard complementing his gentle face. As for Kitty, she wore a pair of rectangular glasses and had two extremely long locks of brown hair sticking out of her hood. What did a better job of catching Hyrg's eye, though, was that she had three thick, black marks going across both of her cheeks. Appropriately, they seemed to give the pretty woman a rather cat-like quality. "Pretty good, for the most part," she said, answering Galileo's question.

Hyrg, at the moment, was too busy wondering what the two of them had been doing besides being cooped up inside this hideout and how it could have caused the giant to be wounded. "What happened?" he asked.

"Just a flesh wound," the giant said. "I'll be fine." He shifted his eyes towards the sky. "But I swear I'll never get used to that place..."

"Yeah," Galileo agreed. "In any case, what's important is that you showed those guys what's good for them."

"Indeed," said Alexander. His strong hand still had a firm grip on the bloody spot on his arm. He gritted his teeth some.

"Don't push yourself, dear," the woman said. She then turned and looked at Hyrg and Galileo. "Well, we'd really better get this taken care of," she said. "We'll talk to you later, boys."

"Alright," Galileo nodded. "Take it easy."

Hyrg watched in wonder as the two Death Sickles resumed walking down the wooden path and up to the main door. Those two managed to convince him that the Death Sickles indeed were an organization meant for multiple races, but he couldn't help but wonder about a few things they said. Once again, questions began to fill the young boy's head. He turned and faced his teacher. "Galileo?" he said.

"Yes, Hyrg."

"What happened to them? What were they doing?"

The wolf paused for a second. "Well, Hyrg," he began, "they don't call this the Forbidden Forest for nothing, you know..."

The boy looked puzzled. "What?"

"Believe it or not, one of the Twelve Gods of Chaos lives here," Galileo pointed out. Hyrg went wide-eyed. The wolf nodded a little. "Yup. His name is Bidden," he went on. "He's the king of the centaurs. A few of them have a hideout of their own somewhere around here. It's where we sealed Bidden's spirit during Trondaga. Occasionally, some of his minions'll come out and start looking for some sacrifices in hope of being able to revive their master." Galileo waved his arm some, gesturing to where Alexander and Galileo had been a second ago. "But, as you can see, we don't let them do that," he continued. "It's the least we can do until the inevitable, I suppose." Galileo took another bite out of his drumstick. "We don't just sit around and train, you know."

"Hmm..." Hyrg hummed. Having been given a few more things to think about, he continued eating his break away beside his teacher...

* * *

Tessa had been leading Wario, Waluigi, and Annabyss through these air ducts for quite some time. Occasionally, they'd look down and they'd be able to see what was going on in the other rooms of this base. Mostly, they were just filled with Chuckyas and Bob-Ombs. All of them were working hard on weapons and other such war-type things. At this point, it was undeniable that world-domination was what they wanted.

As for the leader of this operation, he was still nowhere in sight. That is, he wasn't, until the next grid Tessa managed to come across. "Hey, over here," she said, gesturing to the others. Soon, the four of them were gathered around this new window, peering into a rather interesting room: a lab. In it were two individuals: a Bob-Omb with a mustache and an overgrown, walking, talking wooden soldier. "That's him, isn't it, Annie?"

"Yes," Annabyss replied. "Let's see what he's up to..." The quartet began listening in on their enemy's conversation...

"...And after weapon is made, what shall we do?" General Wind-up said.

"Vell, sir, I have sent six of our Cutchyas over to Belome Rock, a mountain in der Clover Kingdom," said Albert Einamite. "A strange creature lives zhere. Zhey'll capture it, und bring it back. Zhen ve'll strap ZHAT to der Einamizer 2000. See vhat comes out."

"Brilliant, Albert, brilliant," Wind-up commented. His intelligent Bob-Omb of a minion nodded in return.

"So," Annabyss said, "trouble in the Clover Kingdom. This is proving to be quite interesting..."

"Hmm..." Tessa said. She and the other three continued watching the show. In a few moments, it got interrupted by an odd-looking woman and six Chuckyas entering the room. On them, they had six 8-Bits. None of them were looking pleased in anyway. Two of them Tessa recognized. "Annie!" she said. "Aren't they the ones who..."

"Yes, dear," Annabyss replied. "It looks like they could use some help..."

"Larva!" General Wind-up said. "You come wit prisoners!"

"Yes, sir," the woman replied.

"Larva," Annabyss said. "Not a trustworthy woman, I see..."

General Wind-up's next move was to notice the big orange Shy Guy and the grey Laser Snifit his female minion also seemed to have on her. "You bring two odhers?" he said.

"Yes, sir," Larva answered.

"DAMN IT!! LET US GO!!" Big Guy protested.

"They're rather noisy, as you can see," Larva commented.

"Hm. Da," Wind-up said. In the next instant, he turned and faced the room's scientific Bob-Omb. "Albert? Is Einamizer ready?"

"Eine minuten, sir," the Bob-Omb said. He then waddled up to the one side of the machine near the electric chairs. On it, there was a big switch. KA-CHUNK! He slammed it into the on position, and lightning bolts began to swim around throughout the monstrous machine. "It ist ready," Albert announced.

"Marvelous!" General Wind-up exclaimed. The six 8-Bits that the Chuckyas were holding prisoner could do little more than gawk at this devious-looking device.

"By the gods!" Robin Hifit said. "What be that infernal contraption?!"

General Wind-up snickered. "Your resting place."

"WHAT?!" Small Fry spazzed. His teammates made some similar reactions. Evidently, this guy had struck a nerve. The man just snickered again.

"Larva," he said, "it is time."

"Yes, sir," said Larva. Once again, she snapped her fingers. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss all watched in horror as four of the Chuckyas in the room dragged Robin Hifit, Small Fry, Crystal Guy, and Grey Guy to their seats.

"DISGRACEFUL SWINE!! RELEASE ME AT ONCE!!"

"LEMME GO, LEMME GO, LEMME GO!!"

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Ugh..."

Ignoring their objections, the four Chuckyas shackled each of their prisoners into the four seats of the Einamizer 2000. They each tried squirming and breaking free, but it was no use. Their ankles and wrists were all being bound by some cruel metal cuffs. They were trapped. All that, and their craniums had been placed beneath metal bowls of some sort. All three of General Wind-up, Larva, and Albert Einamite were looking very pleased by the plight of their four prisoners. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss, however, all just looked worried.

General Wind-up laughed. "Do it, Albert," he ordered.

The Bob-Omb nodded. After pushing a few buttons on a nearby council, the process began. The four prisoners started taking note of the cuffs and the devices holding their heads beginning to glow. They each stopped stopped struggling and just let pure fear ensnare them.

"The unforgiving ways of the world," Robin Hifit whispered. "An endless reign..."

"Ohhh, no, no, no, no..." Small Fry wailed.

"All things with form eventually perish," Crystal Guy stated.

"Well..." said Grey Guy. Everyone watched in horror and anticipation as these final words were spoken. Finally, once the glowing things got bright enough...

BDDZZZZTTTT!!! Electricity began to tear the prisoners apart. Every last nerve in their body was throbbing in pain. The four victims began screaming at the tops of their lungs. "AAAUUURRRGGGHHH!!!"

"NNOOOOOO!!!" Big Guy screamed. At last, through a sudden burst of adrenaline, he and Laser Snifit had broken free from the Chuckyas' grips. They ran past them, General Wind-up, and Larva and up to the fiendish machine. Big Guy made it first. He lunged at the device with his fists swinging. Then ZZAAPPP!!! His body slammed directly into a wall of electricity, shocking the poor man, and sending him flying backwards. Laser Snifit watched in surprise and anxiety as he skidded across the floor.

"BIG GUY!!" he yelled, running up to his downed comrade. Wind-up, Larva, and Albert just grinned at them. Laser Snifit held his partner's head up and they both watched in sadness and terror as the Einamizer continued to fry their friends. They were helpless to do anything. They had come all this way for their friends' sake, and now all they could do was sit and watch as they gradually faded away from their lives. The more lightning bolts bore into them, the less pain they could feel. Finally, the electricity began to die down, revealing what it had reduced the four of Robin Hifit, Small Fry, Crystal Guy, and Grey Guy to: a bunch of limp masses with smoke coming out of them. None of them were breathing.

"No..." Big Guy gasped. "NOOOOOO!!!" The massive Shy Guy bolted up from the floor and ran up to what used to be his four friends. He stared at them all in pure belief. "They're... They're..." The man couldn't bring himself to say it. He collapsed to his knees and buried his face in his hands. All the memories he ever had of these people, all the pain and the pleasure they went through together... It had led up to this point. It had left Big Guy to writhe in a pit of despair.

Saddened by the sight of his heartbroken comrade, Laser Snifit walked up to Big Guy and placed a hand on his shoulder. Solemnly, he looked down at the ground and began to share Big Guy's sorrow. _Big Guy,_ he thought, _you're a tormented soul..._

General Wind-up, Larva, and Albert Einamite just looked at this depressed duo and laughed. It cut through Big Guy like a drill. As a result, his sadness soon turned to anger. His blood was set alight and he jerked his head up. Just giving Albert Einamite that chilling stare was enough to get the Bob-Omb to abruptly stop laughing and gulp.

"You..." Big Guy growled. No one was laughing anymore. Even Laser Snifit had become afraid. He removed his hand from his partner's shoulder and took a step back. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" The infuriated giant leapt from the ground and started bounding towards Albert. Instinctively, Larva snapped her fingers. At once, all six Chuckyas were on Big Guy's tail. It was necessary to protect Albert. The Bob-Omb shook with fear. This looked like the end...

Suddenly, along with the Chuckyas, Big Guy stopped. His anger had become confusion. He turned his head and looked at the Einamizer 2000, as did everyone else. The machine was shaking and creating quite a few strange noises. It was even gushing out puffs of steam in various places. All the eyes in the room watched as the machine's strange activity gradually began to calm down. Finally, the opening near the right of it burst forth a massive cloud of steam and the conveyor belt started moving. Looks of surprise were everywhere as the machine pushed out something big.

WHAM!! It shook the entire lab as it hit the ground after being pushed out by the conveyor belt. The steam faded away and the thing's identity was revealed. It was a giant, mutated-looking, hooded creature that walked around on all fours. Its hands and feet were both pitch black and had claws sticking out of them. Its robe was torn and its colors were in splotches. Simultaneously, it was green, a darker shade of green, grey, and a purple that sparkled. It wore a misshapen, white mask with two eyeholes that were lopsided. Neither of them were where they were supposed to be. The one on its right had a Snifit-like snout beneath it. Big Guy and Laser Snifit seemed to be intimidated by this thing. Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, Annabyss, Wind-up, and Larva just looked intrigued. Albert smiled.

"Behold," he said, "zhis ist vhat der Einamizer 2000 ist capable of." Big Guy and Laser Snifit swallowed hard. This looked bad.

"GET DHEM!!" General Wind-up yelled, pointing with one of his wooden fingers. The next instant, all seven of the Chuckyas and the monster were advancing on Big Guy. The muscular Shy Guy was starting to panic. Laser Snifit started trying to push his way through the mob, but it was useless. Seeing the fear on both their faces, and the grim satisfaction of Wind-up, Larva, and Albert, the four of Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss decided they had seen enough.

CHUNG!! All twelve of the heads in the room suddenly turned around and got a good look at who or what had just dropped in. From out of the air ducts had arrived two odd-looking men, one little girl, and one shadowy woman.

"What is..." Wind-up started. Annabyss answered him.

"General Wind-up, you have gone too far," she said. "It is time for you to face judgement."

"Careful who you're talking to, miss," Larva said, stepping in front of her superior with her arms folded defiantly. "You might get burned..."

Annabyss got into a fighting stance. "Wario, Waluigi," she said, "go and help those two over there." She gestured towards Big Guy and Laser Snifit. "I'll take care of this woman."

"Ja, madame," the brothers said as they saluted Annabyss and started running towards the Chuckyas.

Tessa looked fretful. "Annie, what am I supposed to do?" she asked.

"You've done your part, dear," the woman said. "Just leave this to us."

Tessa looked a bit displeased. She stepped back and folded her arms. _Darn it,_ she thought. _I just know these gloves are capable of something. I wanna try them out!..._

While Annabyss and Larva were busy being about to square off with each other, Laser Snifit was busy trying to push his way through the Chuckyas again. "Would you jerks get out of here already?! Leave him alone!!" the 8-Bit yelled. Just when this mob of Bob-Omb-like creatures were about to get too close to Big Guy, Laser Snifit saw two blurs of yellow and blue rush in out of nowhere and start to punch and kick the daylights out of those things. Big Guy and Laser Snifit were in awe as they bore witness to Wario and Waluigi successfully knocking aside all seven of the Chuckyas and even the monster. Once all these enemies were on the ground, the four of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, and Waluigi were the only ones standing. Big Guy and Laser Snifit were impressed.

"Wow! I don't know who you are, but thanks a lot!" Big Guy said. The Kamenstein Bros. gave them the thumbs-up. At first, things were looking good for this newly formed quartet. Then ZING! An arrow suddenly materialized between them. Confused, they turned around and saw that the monster was back on its hands and its feet. It looked ready to kill something. Big Guy looked offended. "That thing's got Robin Hifit's ability!!"

"That's probably not all it has," Laser Snifit added grimly.

Big Guy pumped an arm. "LET'S GET'IM!!" he yelled. Both he and Laser Snifit then sped off and threw themselves upon the beast. Wario and Waluigi tried following their example, but their path was blocked by six Chuckyas that were suddenly up and floating again. The brothers beckoned the six-some of monsters with their hands. Soon enough, the two of Wario and Waluigi had become engaged in battle with these weird things...

"Fight if you must, mein freunde," Albert said, commenting to himself as he watched the brothers begin to fight off the Chuckyas. "You can't vin..."

Annabyss and Larva stared each other down. Both of them had total eradication on their minds. First, though, Larva had to say something. "You know," she said to Annabyss, "they don't call me the Mistress of Wigglers for nothing..." Annabyss looked a bit perplexed. Larva's next move was a strange one. She held out her right hand and flicked it upward. In the next instant, CRRAASSHH!! A giant yellow Wiggler with its eyes narrowed and its teeth clenched burst through the ground between the two sorceresses like a whale breeching. Annabyss was awed. The Wiggler landed nearby, blowing puffs of steam out of its nostrils. Larva grabbed its attention with a hand gesture and pointed at Annabyss. Soon, the behemoth was stampeding towards the woman. Annabyss had to think fast. She transformed herself into a Mecha-Blooper and began to fire away. KA-BBOOMM!! A shadowy Bullet Bill got the monster right against its forehead. The immense Wiggler roared in pain and began to steer away from the Mecha-Blooper, leaving its summoner wide open.

Larva scowled. _She's good,_ she thought, _but not good enough..._

With their club and hoop-shaped lasers handy, Big Guy and Laser Snifit had soon found out that this monster they were going up against had more up its sleeve than a bunch of arrows. After the thing knocked them to the ground, it started firing projectiles at them from its eyes. Since Laser Snifit was able to get up first, he was able to snap out of it and dodge those things, but Big Guy was less lucky. SHING! SHING! SHING! Whatever they were, three of them had sliced a few bloody gashes into his arms and got stuck in the ground behind him. Big Guy was up with a start, gasping in pain again. Laser Snifit observed what it had used to attack: extremely sharp pieces of crystal. He was even more amazed. "So, not only does it possess Robin Hifit's arrows, but also Crystal Guy's crystals," he mused. Big Guy had his club ready again. He panted a bit, then started charging towards the monster. In one second, the monster was glaring at him. In the next, WHAM!! It had materialized right in front of him and sent him sprawling with the swipe of one of its paws. "And Small Fry's speed, I see," Laser Snifit groaned. "How are we supposed to beat this thing?..."

WHAM! Wario socked a Chuckya right between the eyes. BAM! Waluigi sent one spinning by kicking its face in. No matter what these things did, the result would always be the same. They simply weren't anything of a match for the Kamenstein Bros.. However, what these things lacked in skill they seemed to make up for in tenacity, ensuring that this was a battle that would take more than six hits for the Kamenstein Bros. to finish. Thus, the battle dragged on, and all Tessa could do was sit back and watch.

_Ohh,_ she fretted. _There must be SOMETHING I can do..._ Soon after that, her attention went back to focusing on the fight between Annabyss and Larva. Annabyss looked ready to fire another Bullet Bill, this time in the direction of Larva, which she did. SHOOM! The projectile was off. It was Larva's turn to think fast. KA-BBOOOMM!! The Bullet Bill exploded, but it wasn't against Larva; it was against one of the many segments of the giant Wiggler. Larva had forced it to jump in the way just in time. The thing was badly hurt. It didn't look as though it'd be going anywhere for a while. With that in mind, Annabyss turned herself into a Spinthra and began to scale the fallen monster's body with her many legs. Once she was on top of it and could see her opponent, she leapt off the monster, opening her mandibles wide for the treacherous sorceress. Surprisingly, Larva just smiled. Again, Annabyss was confused. CHOMP!! Tessa shrieked as the Wiggler suddenly hopped back onto its numerous feet and grabbed Annabyss with its teeth. In her spider-like form, she was writhing in that beast's mouth, barely being even able to breath. Larva approached the woman and smirked.

"Not much of a sorceress, are ya?" she taunted. The Mistress of Wigglers turned around to face General Wind-up who had born witness to the whole thing in satisfaction. "General Wind-up," she said, holdingher hands by Annabyss's head, "would you do the honors?" Tessa was more horrified then than ever, especially by what the general did next.

"Wit pleasure," the wooden man laughed, whipping out an odd-looking sword. Its blade appeared to be separated into three different parts, each one having an arrow-shaped line pointing towards the tip between them. None of them would ever share the same color. They were always changing between being red, yellow, and blue, in that order. This was the strange blade that the man was going to use in order to hack down Annabyss for good as he marched towards the struggling woman.

Tessa's widened eyes watched this as panic overcame her. Subconsciously, she placed her hands over her mouth, wondering what to do. That was when she noticed it: the gloves on her hands; little yellow sparks of electricity were flying around them! She took them away from her mouth and observed them, awestricken. Then she looked up and noticed the general had gotten dangerously close to the woman that was taking care of her. He raised his sword, and Tessa scowled. She thrust out her hands, pointed them at her target, and thought, _Here goes nothing..._

TSSEEWWW!! A big, fat, yellow laser beam burst forth from the palms of her hands and went flying. BBOOOMMM!!! It nailed her target right where she wanted it to: right on its neck. As a result, the giant Wiggler's humungous head was blown off its body. Green guts went flying everywhere, and SHUNK! General Wind-up's sword struck. It got the Wiggler directly in its forehead. Both he and Larva were surprised by this. It wasn't what they had planned.

"Good job, Tessa!" Annabyss called out. The girl's eyes lit up. She had successfully saved Annabyss's life, allowing her to scurry out of the monster's mouth, transform into a rather large snake, wrap herself around the startled Larva, and began to constrict. "Now on to you..." she growled to her rival of a sorceress...

It had all become clear to Wind-up now. He wasn't going to forgive that little girl for what she had done. He pulled the sword out of the dead monster's forehead and began to stride towards her menacingly. "You have made big mistake," he snarled. Tessa gasped as this new enemy of hers started getting closer. She knew this was going to be trouble...

Big Guy was still struggling to get up as the beast began bounding towards him. Thinking fast, Laser Snifit turned around, faced it, and fired a circuluar laser in its direction. The monster was in the middle of leaping upon the overgrown Shy Guy like a puma when it got its rear-end fried. The thing roared in pain, still flying through the air. In the nick of time, Big Guy caught a glimpse of how dangerously close this thing was to him, and WHACK!! He smacked it across its ugly mask with his club, forming a crack across it in the process. Then it was the monster's turn to go sprawling. It was skidding in the direction of Laser Snifit. The little man got his wits together and jumped up into the air, landing onto the behemoth's chest as he did so. He prepared to fire another laser. SH-SH-SHING!! Too late. The Snifit went flying off of the monster's body. Three crystal shards had lodged themselves in his right arm. Soon, the monster was on all fours again and Big Guy and Laser Snifit were still unsure of how they were to defeat it...

Wario and Waluigi were still going at it with those pesky Chuckyas. Waluigi had managed to successfully drop-kick one right on top of its bulbous head, knocking it to the ground. Just then, another Chuckya had snuck up behind him and grabbed a hold of the demonic man. Wario could hear his brother screaming once he got done socking another Chuckya's ugly mug. Once he turned around, he could see the Chuckya had chucked his sibling right out of the arena. Maddened, Wario decided to give that particular Chuckya a taste of his own medicine. A different Chuckya got in his way while he was running towards it, but he just pounded it into the ground upon jumping atop its head in order to reach his next victim. Wario got close enough. He circled around the pest, picked him up by the black diamond in his back, and heaved. The Bob-Omb-like creature made a loud, metallic yelping sound as it exploded once it hit the ground. The elder Kamenstein Brother was astonished by this development. Waluigi was as well once he was on his feet again. The other five Chuckyas were looking nervous upon realizing that these two men had discovered their weakness. The turning point had been reached...

General Wind-up had his sword swinging. Tessa was doing little more than backing away from this maniac at this point. She knew she had to do something. CLANG!! The general smote the ground with his sword. He would have gotten the girl had she not have yelped and rolled away just in time. Her dodging was starting to get on his nerves. He just started chasing her some more. Again, he raised his sword. The girl was still wrought with fear, but, this time, she decided to go with a different approach. She concentrated once more, causing the sparks around the gloves to appear again. Then ZAP!! The weapon of General Wind-up was knocked from his grasp by a cleverly aimed laser beam. The man was ticked. This time, he decided strangling the girl was the way to go. He growled and held out his hands, tightening his fingers like claws. Tessa got nervous again. She decided there was only one thing left to do. She got a good look at his exposed torso and concentrated. Wind-up had walked pretty fast. His hands were inches away from the girl's neck when suddenly, TSSEEWW!! A big, smoking, black hole materialized on his chest and he went flying. His back hit the ground hard and he skidded until he was right next to his blade. Tessa watched in anticipation as the man weakly lifted up his head, looked at her through dizzy eyes, and fainted. Tessa smiled in relief. She had managed to successfully down her enemy, and it was all thanks to her new gloves. The girl began to look around the room, wondering what else she could do...

Two of the Chuckyas were starting to look nervous. In one second, there was only four of them left. In the next, only three. The Kamenstein Bros. had indeed become a nuisance ever since they discovered their weakness. With another loud, metallic yelp, it had officially become two-on-two. Unfortunately for the Chuckyas, not even this could amount to a fair fight. Before they knew it, the menacing brothers were behind them and grabbing them by their black diamonds. With two squirming Chuckyas in their arms, the brothers nodded to each other while sporting some mischievous grins, and tossed. Soon enough, those Chuckyas had hit the ground and disappeared in a few puffs of white smoke, just as their peers had. Wario and Waluigi wiped the dust off their hands. As for Albert Einamite, all he could do was watch these brothers in disgust.

"You two zhink you have won?!" he spazzed. "Zhe reign of General Vind-up ist just beginning!!"

The Kamenstein Bros. waved their hands at the man in a belittling gesture. "Stille, sie alt täuscht."

"Vhat?! How dare you!!" Albert objected. "You two are nozhing more zhan a bunch of-"

SHING!! A rather large hunk of crystal nearly got the old Bob-Omb right in the face. Lucky for him, it only hit the ground in front of him. Nonetheless, it had gotten him and the Kamenstein Bros. to shut up. The three of them turned around and saw that Big Guy had deflected one of the shards of the Einamizer's monster using his club. It was a good move, but it still wasn't enough for the likes of this thing. It spat some arrows out of its Snifit-like snout at the two of him and Laser Snifit, which merely made them dance. Once that was over with, Big Guy readied his club again and Laser Snifit got into another fighting stance. The monster roared and lunged through the air, holding its claws out, ready to tear the two 8-Bits to pieces again. Thinking quickly, the duo just front-flipped over the batch of arrows sticking out of the ground, allowing the monster to go sailing right over their heads. They turned around and prepared to retaliate, but WHAM!! It was unbelievable how fast that thing was. Immediately, it had turned around and pounced on them, slamming them into the ground, a paw around both necks. The thing snarled at them and began to make its eyesockets glow again. Big Guy and Laser squirmed helplessly, dreading what was to come.

Watching this, Wario and Waluigi were in the middle of deciding they had seen enough. However, no sooner than the instant they took that first step towards the demonic beast with their fists clenched had Big Guy and Laser Snifit's salvation already come. TSSEEWWW!! A big, yellow laser beam flew out of nowhere and blasted the monster's mask right where the crack was. As a result, the mask shattered and the monster found itself in tremendous pain. It immediately tore its paws away from Big Guy and Laser Snifit's necks and began to clutch at whatever it was the mask had been hiding this whole time. Roaring in pain, the monster was staggering about on its hind legs like a bear. Meanwhile, Big Guy and Laser Snifit were turning their heads around, looking at the girl who had saved them. They waved to her to symbolize their gratitude and she nodded back. Then it was back to business. The 8-Bits knew that this was their chance.

"Okay, it's vulnerable," Snifit said. "Big Guy? Think you can handle'im?"

Big Guy tightened his grip around his club. "Just watch me," he assured. The monster was still staggering around and Big Guy had gotten to rushing towards the foul thing, club in hand. All the murderous intent in the world was in his head.

_Alright, you freak,_ he thought. _Payback time..._

The moment had come. Big Guy jumped high up into the air with his club upraised, fixing his gaze upon the top of the behemoth's head as he did so. The overgrown Shy Guy came down and began to swing the club. The result was explosive. CCRAAACKK!! With all his strength, the Shy Guy slammed his club right onto the beast's cranium, surely having made a crack in its skull in the process. WHAM!!! The impact of the blow was so devastating, the beast had fallen right to the ground. Its face had made a crater in the ground and was buried deep within it. As for the rest of its body, it wasn't moving one bit. Big Guy stepped back and admired his handiwork. Then the cheers came. All five of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa found themselves jumping for joy at this thing's defeat. However, Albert Einamite was looking pale...

During this, Annabyss was still trying to choke the life out of Larva with her snake-like body. She was determined, but her opponent didn't look ready to give in just yet.

"Don't...think that...summoning Wigglers...is all I can do," the incongruous woman wheezed.

"Don't talk," Annabyss said. "Just die."

Larva growled. Beneath the portion of Annabyss's long, twisted body that was keeping her wrists in place, Larva's three-fingered hands were beginning to flick upward in an odd formation. Then the unexpected occurred. FFWWOOOSHH!! Yelping in surprise and pain, Annabyss instantly uncoiled herself and flew off of the woman, observing what had caused this to happen. Lo and behold, both of her index fingers had pillars of blue flames rising from their tips. The two sorceresses glared at each other.

"An interesting ability, you have there," Annabyss commented.

"Thank you," Larva said. Her next move was to create four more pillars of blue fire for her other fingers to wield. "Though, I'm afraid this must end now..."

"Indeed..." Agreeing with the trecherous woman, Annabyss turned herself into a giant Blooper once more. Again, the two women got into some fighting stances, staring each other down. They were about to get the riot going again when...

"STOP IT!! ALL OF YOU!!" Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa stopped celebrating, and Annabyss and Larva stopped fighting. These seven people turned and looked at Albert Einamite. An extremely grave expression was on his face. "Ve must get out of here at once!!" he declared. "In sixty seconds, zhis place ist going to explode!" In response, the Bob-Omb got an assortment of different confused murmurs. To elaborate, the Bob-Omb pointed his face towards the monster's body. It was beginning to glow white and emanate a foreboding hum. "Ze monster vill explode, taking everyone in zhis base down vizh it! It's full of crates of gunpowder!!" At that, everyone in the room began to panic. "Ve must get out of here!!"

Fear and desperation began to sweep the room. "Self-destruction," Laser Snifit said. "Grey Guy's ability..."

WHUMP!! Big Guy and Laser Snifit jolted and looked behind themselves. A shadowy, elephant-like creature was there. On top of it were those two guys and that one little girl that rescued them earlier. "Hop on," the pachyderm said. "There isn't much time." Big Guy and Laser Snifit hesitated for one second, but then decided they didn't have a choice. In a few moments, all five of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa were on Annabyss's back. Without a moment to lose, the shape shifting woman began stampeding out of that room as fast as she could, leaving Larva, Albert Einamite, the unconscious General Wind-up, and the glowing monster to eat their dust. None of them knew what to do.

_Damn it,_ Larva thought, looking around her with her teeth clenched, _things are getting complicated..._

Chaos ensued everywhere as Annabyss ran through the various rooms of the base. Bob-Ombs and Chuckyas alike were scattering, clearing a path for her, and various crates were getting crushed. Blurs of assorted rooms and explosives whizzed past Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa as they held on tightly to their ride. Within seconds, they were all in the next room and having very little time left until the entire place was history. This time, trucks and crates were what Annabyss raced through. Again, Bob-Ombs began to scatter, all of them screaming for their lives as they tried to get out of this thing's way. One such Bob-Omb couldn't help but notice that three of the people riding that elephant looked familiar.

"Hey," he said, "aren't they the ones who were sneaking..."

It didn't matter. WHAM!!! Since the front door to this facility was closed, Annabyss just had to make a new one. After tilting her head forward and ramming straight into it, one was made. Then it was off to speeding away from the deranged base of Full Moon and into the palm tree forest for her. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa looked behind themselves as they watched the few remaining seconds of this base. Three... Two... One...

KA-BBOOOOOOOOMMM!!!...

The entire base had turned into a gigantic mountain of detonation. Fire and debris was flying everywhere. Surviving that was a high impossibility. Full Moon was no more. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss stampeded on...

* * *

Hyrg and Galileo were still under a tree, enjoying their break and eating. Exactly what was on Galileo's mind, Hyrg was unsure of. After all, he had his own thoughts to deal with, most of them centering around the Twelve Gods of Chaos. He knew so much about them, yet he didn't feel it was enough. To get answers, he only knew one way how...

"Galileo?" he asked.

"Yes, Hyrg?" the wolf replied.

"I still don't get it," the boy started. "Who and what were the Twelve Gods of Chaos? What did they do wrong? Where are they now? How'd they get there?"

Galileo chuckled a bit. "You sure are full of questions," he commented. Hyrg just furled his brow at him. Galileo looked at him. Then he started reaching into the folds of robe. "Here," he said, pulling out a book. Its cover read, "The Forgotten Legends." "Just read this every night before you go to bed," Galileo instructed. "It should clear things up."

Hyrg took the book and examined it a bit. In the meantime, Galileo was busy finishing off his meal.

"Well," he said, getting up. "Come on. Back to training."

Hyrg thought for a moment. He then placed the book within the folds of his own robe and got up as well. The next instant, the two boys were walking down that wooden path leading to the inside of their hideout. The afternoon was young and Hyrg was still in the midst of adjusting to the complicated life of a Death Sickle...

* * *

Six people were on a beach somewhere. Two of them were talking to each other and two others were looking glumly at the pillar of smoke that used to be Full Moon. Tessa and Annabyss may have been in high spirits, but Big Guy and Laser Snifit were another story.

"You did very well for a first-timer, Tessa," Annabyss complimented. "I can see great things coming for you and those gloves." Tessa giggled. Annabyss nodded to her, but then noticed the melancholy moods of Big Guy and Laser Snifit and began to glide towards them. "Gentlemen, what's wrong?" she asked.

Laser Snifit didn't say anything. Big Guy just took a deep breath. He commenced explaining it to the woman. "We let Chogun down, we let Davey down..." The muscular Shy Guy held his hand out, pointing to where the smoke was coming from. "Now this. We let Robin Hifit, Small Fry, Crystal Guy, and Grey Guy down. Maybe there's no room in this world for a couple of screwups like us..."

"Don't talk like that," Annabyss said. "If there's anything the world is unfit for, it's two ninnies that aren't willing to learn from their mistakes."

Big Guy turned around and faced the woman. "But," he started, "we really tried this time, and it STILL didn't do us any good!"

"Did it?" Annabyss retorted. "You are underestimating yourself." The woman took a step closer to the massive Shy Guy. She was only up to his chest, but she continued talking to him. "We saw what you two did," she said. "The way you handled those Bob-Ombs and that monster back there... It was truly amazing. Ordinary people can't do what you have done." Having heard that, Laser Snifit stopped looking at the smoke and started looking at Annabyss as well, listening some more. "Gentlemen," she added, "ask yourselves this: does the world really not need you?"

Big Guy and Laser Snifit both ran the question through their heads. It didn't take long for them to realize that, in spite of what had happened during the past few days, they were still two very incredible people.

"I guess you're right," Laser Snifit said quietly.

"Yeah..." Big Guy agreed.

Annabyss nodded. "And it's not too late," she said. "The world needs us. It needs you, too."

Big Guy and Laser Snifit started looking pensive. That was when Tessa walked up to them beside Annabyss. "We're on our way to Uaurpe to help the world," she said, "you guys can come with, if you'd like."

"Hmm..." said Laser Snifit.

"But," Big Guy interjected, "what about our friends? Robin Hifit, Small Fry, Crystal Guy, and Grey Guy?"

"They have already forgiven you, gentlemen," Annabyss said. "Wherever they are now, they want you to do for the world what you couldn't for them."

The two 8-Bits weren't sure just yet. They looked first at Annabyss, then at Tessa. Behind them, they could see the Kamenstein Bros.. The two boys just held up their fists and grinned as though to urge them to fight on. Big Guy and Laser Snifit huddled up.

"Should we?" Laser Snifit asked.

"I don't see why not," Big Guy said. "Besides... Sounds like fun! And I'm sure it's what the gang would have wanted us to do."

Snifit nodded. "You're right." The two guys faced their four new friends again. "You can count us in."

Tessa and the Kamenstein Bros. were smiling. Annabyss clapped her delicate hands together. "Wonderful," she said. "Just wait here..." Everyone watched. The woman turned around and began walking across the sandy beach. Gradually, she let the ocean's water engulf her. Once she was completely submerged beneath it, FFWOOSHH!! A shadowy Nep-Enut emerged. Catching on, Tessa and the Kamenstein Bros. had commenced hopping onto its head again. They beckoned their two new recruits with their hands to do the same. Big Guy and Laser Snifit just shrugged and did just that. Before long, all six of these people were back to drifting across the ocean, and Big Guy was excited.

"Alright!" he said, pumping an arm. "Uaurpe, baby, here we come!"

"Not quite," Annabyss said, confusing the others a little. "We have some unfinished business to take care of. I'm afraid Belome Rock of the Clover Kingdom is our next destination." The others began to nod.

"Alright then," Big Guy said. "First to Belome Rock, then to Uaurpe!" Excited, his other teammates cheered. Their mission on Bobbus Island may not have been an entirely successful one, but life went on, and these six people had a journey to continue. They seemed to be on the right track...

"Hmph..." Little did they know that high above the smoking wreckage of what was once Full Moon was the woman they tried to kill, Larva. She had been watching them the whole time by riding on the back of a giant Flying Wiggler. Her arms were folded. A very disgusted look was plastered on her face. "Good job, you ingrates," she growled. "You just cost me my ticket to enslaving this world. All that sucking up I did... All those Bob-Ombs I had..." The woman looked down upon the ruins she had just barely escaped. "They're all in shambles now..." She fixed her gaze upon the six that were escaping her. Her eyes had embodied death. "You'll pay for this... Mark my words..." With that, the woman was off, flying far away into the distance...

* * *

Dr. Kamenstein watched in satisfaction as Christopher and his wife locked each other in a deep, passionate embrace. It had taken a while, but he was finally back in Gana Village and back in Christopher's book store. That, and the man's wife was back in his presence. He was ecstatic. However, there was something bothering him in the back of his mind. Once he got the opportunity to do so, he voiced it to the scientific man.

_"Again, I must thank you for this task,__  
__But there's something else that I must ask:__  
__Tessa and William; where are they?__  
__I cannot stand them being away."_

Dr. Kamenstein clenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He knew this moment was going to come. All he could do was bite the bullet and go along with it. "Your children," he started, his voice quivering uncontrollably, "while we were gone..." The Madscikoopa swallowed hard. "Mysteriously disappeared..."

Christopher's eyes widened. He stopped breathing. His wife wasn't very surprised, but the pain was still the same. She just continued holding her husband's hands while her eyes started to get misty.

"They could be anywhere right now," Kamenstein continued, his voice still shaking. "I'm sorry."

Christopher didn't say anything. He just looked solemnly down at the floor. Slowly, he slipped away from his wife. She let him do so. The poet walked his way up to the window. He stared in depression out at the setting sun. Why did things always have to turn out this way for him?...

The man may have been looking out the window, but he wasn't doing so beneath it. Therefore, what he didn't know was that a group of four Beezos were busy finally breaking free from their icy prisons and shaking off the frigid stuff. Fortunately for them, no one saw them do this as they were hidden deep within the bushes. The four of them socialized a bit, but stopped once they noticed they could hear talking in the building behind them. One of the voices sounded familiar...

"I'm not sure what to tell you," Dr. Kamenstein said. "These things...just happen."

For a little while longer, Christopher stared at the sunset. The man was deep in thought. Analyzing and hypothesizing was going on in his head. Finally, he said something.

_"Dr. Kamenstein, you've done well..."_

"Hm?" the scientist said.

_"In the distance, I hear a bell..."_

Both Dr. Kamenstein and the woman in the room were looking a bit confused.

_"It's telling me what job's for me,__  
__That I should search the land and sea..."_

"Honey," his wife started, "you don't mean..."

Christopher nodded...

A few moments later, the scene was taking place outside the store. Christopher was getting wished good luck by his friend and his wife. The one in the lab coat was all the Beezos cared about. They were watching all this from around the corner of the building. They noticed that the taller man had just slipped what looked like a pair of claws into his jacket. He looked about ready to go when the bespectacled one stopped him.

"One moment, please," Dr. Kamenstein said. All six of the Beezos and the Ices watched as the man in the lab coat ran up to his Sky-Pop and started fiddling with it with his screwdrivers and various other tools. In a few seconds, this had allowed the man to have been able to extract a bazooka of some sort from the flying contraption. He walked up to the poetic man and handed it to him. "Blifit Bills," he said. "Should you come across any evil clowns along the way, just use this on'em. It'll freeze them right in their tracks." While Christopher was in the middle of thanking his friend for the new weapon, the Beezos were busy going from feeling hatred towards the man that froze them in the first place to feeling total fear. Could this mean what they hoped it didn't mean?

_"Mary, my dear, watch over my store.__  
__There's a certain tunnel I'm going to explore.__  
__I assure you both, I'll find those two.__  
__Until then, I bid you...adieu..."_

Christopher waved. The other two waved back. With that, he was off. Christopher had begun to walk away from Gana Village. Surely then, the Beezos would be able to have their revenge against the trecherous Dr. Kamenstein. The four of them got their spears ready...

Curiosity had gotten to Dr. Kamenstein. "Where exactly is he headed?" he inquired.

"Gulpit Tunnel," Mrs. Ice replied. "There's a cave nearby that leads to it. It connects Gana Village to three other places: Silicon, Mario Land, and the Clattagin Woods." Dr. Kamenstein just grunted in response to this, but the Beezos responded in total fear again. This time, they knew there was trouble afoot. They huddled up and got the discussion going. Once they had reached an agreement, they zoomed out of the bushes and commenced following Christopher. It was either him or them...

Dr. Kamenstein and his female host were walking back inside the shop. They both had something to hope for, but the Madscikoopa was still feeling a bit down. _Storko,_ he thought, _if only you'd have just been a little more careful..._

* * *

After what felt like quite a long time, Storko had found it: his new place to live. He looked around and took in his surroundings. He was on top of a nice, big mountain. The whole thing was covered in moss. Down below, he could see dozens of trees, all of them forming an odd, clover-filled forest, it seemed. In the distance, he could see the ocean stretching out and getting lit ablaze by the setting sun. All this beautiful scenery, and Storko had fresh mountain air, too.

"Well," he said, "time to unpack..." The bird began unfolding his bundle, getting ready to make this place officially his. Unbeknownst to him, however, a worm-like blob of some strange green ooze had spotted him. It swam around through the air insanely and commenced sneaking up on the bird. It caused him to start hearing an unusual sloshing noise behind him. "What the..." He turned around and saw it. That in of itself would have been enough to make him scream, but, once it got close enough, it zapped him with something, engulfing the fowl in white light. Then it happened...

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!..."

The ooze had made another victim. As quickly as it had arrived, it had fled. The gunk was back in the sky again and all was silent again. It was deceitful. This had happened, and Belome Rock had become even more interesting...


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**  
The smell of salt was in the air. The sky was turning purple and the setting sun was turning the vast sea into an ocean of liquid fire. Drifting across it were the three of Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian, each of them riding the giant doll, Selkford.

"So then _I_ told him, 'Fool! I'm right ALL the time!!' HA HA!!" Foreman Spike boasted. "Funny stuff, huh, Guido?"

"Um, yes, sir," the smaller man replied. Unfortunately, this was not the response the foreman was looking for. He suddenly started glaring.

"What's the matter? Think I'm boring?!" he snapped.

"Um, uh, no, sir," Guido stammered. "I'm... I'm just getting tired." Foreman Spike calmed down a bit. He scoffed, folded his arms and started looking at the ocean some more. Things hadn't picked up since the start of this journey. It was causing Foreman Spike to start getting a little impatient.

"Old woman," Foreman Spike said to Oglian, "how long is this gonna take? This ocean's driving me nuts."

"Oh, we're already there, dear," Oglian replied.

"What?!" Foreman Spike blurted. "What are you talking about? I don't see anything..."

The old woman chortled. "Oh, but of course," she said. "We're in the Light World right now. I'll fix that..." Foreman Spike and Guido watched curiously as this woman held up a fist, pointed it before her, and flicked it open. What happened next had taken her two passengers completely by surprise. A gigantic wave swept itself across the sky and across the ocean. The sky turned red and the entire ocean seemed to become completely black. Foreman Spike and Guido were impressed as they looked around this new world in wonder. "This is the Dark World," Oglian said. "Normal people can't see it...but it's everywhere."

Foreman Spike whistled. "That's some good stuff."

"Sir! Look!" Guido said, pointing past the foreman's shoulder. His attention having been grabbed, the foreman did so. Suddenly, he was even more amazed, for, right there, in the distance, was their long awaited destination: Castle Koopa. The whole thing looked like it was just floating on the water.

Foreman Spike laughed. "Alright," he said. "Looks like we're finally getting somewhere..." The shades-wearing man kicked back and resumed enjoying the ride. His patience had been revived. It wouldn't be long until the next phase of their journey began...

* * *

"Lousy burn marks..."

Doppel was floating beside another one of his paintings. Behind him was a very large window of his mansion, but he had sore spots on his arms to rub ointment onto. They were getting on his nerves.

"Lousy, lousy, lousy..." he grumbled, beginning to massage the damp rag into the affected areas more furiously. At one point, he stopped the rubbing. He could hear something outside. Immediately, the ghostly man turned around and looked out the window. The source of the sound was right in front of him. It was three brats screaming very loudly. With a little help from Kamek and his Toadies, they were flying to the mansion. "Oh, how splendid!!" Doppel stated. "I must go tell everyone..." The man dropped the rag and began hovering quickly away from the painting and the window, yelling for the other members of the Koopa Klan...

* * *

They finally made it. The Three Boombateers finally made it to Clubba Road, a path of white tiles between two fields of grass, lined with grey statues of Clubbas on pedestals, all of them valiantly holding clubs in their right hands. On one end of it were Ren, Razule, and Goomba Prince. Their Boomba's Shoe was parked nearby and two of them were about to hear from their leader.

"So, what now?" Goomba Prince asked.

Razule smirked. "We go in," he said. The dubious trio looked ahead of them. There, they saw the very thing at the end of this road: a gigantic fortress, built directly on the thin line between the edge of the Clover Kingdom and the ocean behind it.

"Hm," Goomba Prince said. "Sounds good."

Leaving their Boomba's Shoe behind, the Three Boombateers walked past two particularly large Clubba statues and commenced ascending the stone steps leading to the inside. Before long, the Three Boombateers had entered the double doors of Clubba Fortress...

* * *

Gorroh, Helga, Arris, the Koopa Troopa, and Doppel were walking towards the entrance of the mansion. All of them had gotten themselves very excited about the news, and none of them were too shy to express it.

"Oh, I can't wait to see them!" Helga squealed, her hands clasping together. "They must be so adorable!"

"Pretty soon, there'll be twice as much love in this family!" Gorroh commented. Their spirits certainly had been lifted. At this point, the group had reached the middle of the foyer. As if on cue, the front doors burst open. With Bowser sulking and the baby-holding Toadies floating behind him, Kamek strut in. His face was sagging as though he hadn't gotten any sleep in days. "Kamek, old boy! How'd it go?" Gorroh said. In response, the Magikoopa just grumbled something about a bunch of screaming hyenas. Gorroh chuckled. "Wonderful! And Bowser? How's my son?"

The young Koopaling snorted. "Tewwible. Smart guy here wuined evewything!!" Bowser pointed to Kamek accusingly. The Magikoopa just grumbled some more.

Gorroh gasped. "Kamek? Is this true?"

"Not now, sire," the sorceror replied.

"Oohh..." Helga cooed. Immediately, she had been infatuated by the babies the Toadies were carrying, Mario and Luigi, even though both were clearly upset. They just sat there atop the Toadies, looking worried and whimpering. "Look at them! Aren't they just precious?"

"Son, meet your new brothers: Mario and Luigi!" Gorroh said this while gesturing to both of them respectively.

"I can tell we're gonna get along juuuust fine," Bowser said. He snickered and smacked his fist into his palm like a punching bag. Mario and Luigi gulped.

"Heh heh! That's the spirit, son!" Gorroh encouraged. He rubbed his son's head, causing his ponytail to become a bit ruffled up and his new hair tie to glimmer a little. Helga wasn't entirely approving of this action of her husband, however.

"Dear, don't put any ideas into his head!" she objected. "They're our new sons. You should treat them with the same dignity and respect as our own!"

"Come on, dear," Gorroh said, "a little roughhousing with MY siblings didn't hurt, and look how _I_ turned out!"

Helga just grumbled and folded her arms. "The men I live with..." Quickly, Helga lightened up and picked up the two babies, one for each arm. "Come on, boys, time for your nap," she said as she began to walk away. "You, too, Bowser," she added.

"Aw, geez," the Koopaling grumbled. He began to follow his mother up the stairs. Only Gorroh, Kamek, Arris, the Koopa Troopa, and Doppel were still left.

"So, Doppel, what are your plans for the day?" Gorroh asked.

"Oh, nothing much," the ghostly man replied, as he rubbed his arms. "I'll just be getting some painting done is all." Gorroh nodded, but then he caught a glimpse of exactly what Doppel was rubbing. He started looking inquisitive.

"Doppel," he said, "where'd you get those burn marks?"

Doppel took a deep breath. It came out in a long sigh. "I'll tell you about it later," he said.

"Hm. Alright then," Gorroh replied. He began to walk away and up the stairs as his family had just done earlier. Meanwhile, Kamek was busy massaging his temples while his Toadies remained floating around. Arris and the Koopa Troopa were talking amongst themselves. Doppel was just lost in thought.

_Crazy things happen in these woods,_ he thought. _I should know..._

* * *

SHING!! Shards of melted ice could be seen flying upward from an opening in the Clattagin Woods somewhere. Inside of it were nine evil clowns, the majority of them very happy to finally be free from the frigid prisons that had been confining them for so long. They were brushing the frosty stuff off of them, save for Har-Harlequin. Still, it was quite the moment of triumph for this small group.

"Ahh," Taffy Kong said. "Back in the real world. Back in the land of money and women. Heh heh heh..."

"At last, we can get back to trying to revive our mistress," Jester celebrated. "The magic will return; I can feel it!!"

"Oh, merciful heavens!" Night Guy said. "It feels so good to be back!"

"It's been a long time, and I'm feelin' fine!!" Groove Guy stated.

"We're full of bliss, and back in business!" Groovum replied. The two of him and Groove Guy laughed and high-fived each other. Rudy stood back and watched his crew with a smirk on his face. They all seemed very glad to finally be up and moving around again. Even Katunk was marching around with his trademark toothy grin. Rudy smiled back. Sitting next to him, Har-Harlequin just looked disgusted, as usual. This all seemed to be too noisy for her.

"Rats," she grumbled. "I guess I should have savored the peace and quiet a bit more."

"Now now, don't be that way, Har-Harlequin," Rudy chided. "This is a glorious day!" The gigantic clown suddenly raised his voice, having one defiant arm sticking in the air. "RUDY AND THE EIGHT GOOFALINGS ARE BACK!!" The humungous clown's teammates let out an enthused cheer. Rudy swung his arm in one direction, motioning for them to follow him. "This way, everyone! The music box awaits!!"

"YEAH!!" the other evil clowns yelled. Rudy hopped in the Clown Copter, started it up, and began hovering off with his peers following him. In the next second, all nine of them had gotten to marching out of that opening in the woods and into the woods itself...or so they thought...

Everyone stopped once they heard a hacking noise. They turned around and saw what the meaning of this was: they're ninth member, Badoyng, was still lying on the grass. The ice had melted off his body, but it was limp, and his eyes were barely opening. Not to mention, there was a bloody stump where his left leg used to be. It was soaking into the grass. The group gasped at the sight and rushed back into the opening, murmuring in worry as they did so. The other seven gathered around their fallen comrade while Rudy got out of the Clown Copter and got to holding the fallen Bashful's head up. The evil clowns had seen better days. They were all looking pretty grim.

"Badoyng!" Rudy said. "Speak to me!!"

The Bashful said nothing. Only the raspy sound of his breathing could be heard. The last thing he saw through his blurry eyes was the sad look on Katunk's face. The Bashful's eyes slowly closed, and his breathing began to gradually fade away. Everyone was deathfully silent as they listened intently to this. At last, it was gone. The unthinkable had occurred. Badoyng was dead.

Rudy shook his head. The others began to look glumly down at the ground. "Boys," he said, "I'm afraid Tondariya will have to wait..."

* * *

"Goodnight, my little angels..."

Helga smiled as she closed the door. Mario, Luigi, and Bowser were behind it, resting their weary heads, supposedly. She noticed how the Mario Bros. were looking a bit worried and how her son was looking mischievous, but she merely shrugged it off. After walking down the hallway a bit, she was able to stumble upon her husband. The two lovers walked up to each other.

"They getting along?" Gorroh asked.

"You'd be surprised," Helga giggled.

"You've still got it!" Gorroh complimented. The two Koopas smiled at each other. Both began to close in on their significant others. Soon enough, they had themselves in each other's arms again. Another round of hugging and kissing had arisen from them. This, Doppel noticed after floating his way to the top of the stairs. Gorroh noticed him and the awkward look on his face. Slowly, he and Helga broke away from one another. "Ah, Doppel, there you are," the king said. "Now then, is there something you wanted to tell me?"

Doppel began floating closer to the couple. "As a matter of fact, yes," the ghostly man said. He floated past them and began heading down the hallway. "Let's go into the other room first..."

Gorroh and Helga nodded. They commenced walking after this mysterious friend of theirs...

* * *

The evil clowns had gotten a lot done during the last few minutes. During that time, they had managed to replace the body of their departed friend with a mound of dirt with a bouquet of flowers on top. At that moment, they had formed a circle around the grave. Their heads were all hung in melancholy. The area was as silent as a ghost. At last, the silence was broken. Rudy began reciting the eulogy.

"Badoyng's services will not be forgotten," he said. "Without his help, we would not have been able to have gotten so much money. Without his help, we would not have been able to conquer Gana Village..." Everyone listened attentively to Rudy's words. All of them were having heavy hearts and weren't afraid to show it. Katunk looked to be the most depressed out of all of them. "He made every contribution he possibly could to the group, and we all thank him for this. His skill with the guitar was second to none..." Some of the clowns were shaking their heads. Others had their hands covering their eyes. Katunk's lip was starting to quiver. "He was a friend to all of us. Rain or shine, he was always there for us. But none of us were as close to him as Katunk." Katunk could feel his heart sink lower into his stomach. "The two of them were quite the duo. We'll never forget the many things they've done together. They were like twins. Their strong sense of comradery was always enough to make us smile. They were inseparable. But now, they have been separated forever..." Everyone took a moment to reminisce about the brother-like bond between Badoyng and Katunk. They understood how painful this must have been for him. Their guesses couldn't have been closer to the truth. "Without him, our group will never be the same. We used to be Rudy and the Eight Goofalings; now, we're just Rudy and the Seven Goofalings..." A tear rolled down Katunk's steel face. Then the next part of Rudy's speech came. This time, his voice was less solemn and more uplifting. "But life, as they say, goes on. Though his body may be gone, his memory will always be with us. Together, we'll bring Tondariya back. With her, we'll be able to create the ideal world he always wanted." The other clowns, including Katunk, all began to nod their heads and murmur in agreement. "And," Rudy added, "we'll get back at the Madscikoopa who did this to him..."

The sadness of the group had been replaced by a sense of hope. Everyone, including Katunk, had begun to focus on avenging the Bashful's death and making the dream live on. The sun had set and stars were beginning to emerge from the sky. Badoyng had died, but the clowns still had a goal to strive for. With their beloved teammate on their minds, they had officially become Rudy and the Seven Goofalings...

* * *

Gorroh, Helga, and Doppel had seated themselves around a table they had been to earlier. Statues and paintings in process surrounded them as they drank tea and got the discussion going.

"So Doppel," Gorroh said after sipping some of his tea, "you seem to always get the strangest injuries without explanation. Are you ready to tell us why this is?"

"Alright, I'll tell you," Doppel said grimly. He took another deep breath and sighed. "Being able to make duplicates of yourself isn't all fine and dandy, you know," he began. "Pretty soon, people will start wondering how you do it. Then they start coveting it. Then they start hunting you down..."

Helga drank some more of her tea. Both her and Gorroh were giving Doppel a consistent amount of eye-contact. "Go on," the husband encouraged.

"As you can guess, it can get pretty dangerous sometimes," the ghost man said. "Sometimes, you just gotta bite back..."

"So," Helga said, "you have an enemy?"

"Not just one; I've got two," Doppel replied. Gorroh and Helga looked a bit surprised by this news. "The Bangarang Bros. are wonderful. They really are," Doppel went on. "But one time, they couldn't do it. Two people--two women--came by one day. They beat them up and started turning my lovely mansion upside-down, looking for me. Well, they found me and then..." Doppel started punching the air in front of him. After about three seconds of this, he stopped and started pretending to pant. He got a hold of himself and continued. "Well," he said, "now I keep them locked up in the basement." Doppel stopped for a second and took a long swig of his tea. He set his cup down and leaned forward. "Wanna see them?" he asked.

Gorroh and Helga looked at each other. Then they looked at Doppel. "Okay, why not?" Gorroh said.

"Great!" Doppel drank the last bit of his tea and floated out of his seat. "Follow me," he said. Gorroh and Helga finished up their tea as well. Once again, they began walking after the floating Doppel. Perhaps soon they'd get to the bottom of this...

* * *

"No."

"WHAT?!"

"No. Now, are you gonna take the test, or are you just going to waste my time?"

Ren, Razule, and Goomba Prince were in the large, stone room behind the entrance to the Clubba Fortress. Like in an airport, its walls were lined with seats and there was a desk in the center of it. Behind it was a female Clubba with a bad hairdo. Goomba Prince was nowhere near happy by her response to their question. Razule decided to take care of it.

"That's okay," he said to the woman. "We'll just wait here until they do get here."

"Fine by me," the Clubba woman said. She continued reading her magazine.

Ren and Goomba Prince watched in perplexion as their leader strut up to one of the seats, jumped onto it, and sat down. They exchanged some confused looks and walked up to Razule who was humming an annoying tune. "Razule," Ren said, "are we really just going to wait here until they get here?"

"It'll just be a few days. What's the big deal?" Razule answered. Both Ren and Goomba Prince flipped out at this.

"A few days?! I can't wait that long!!" Goomba Prince protested. "What are we supposed to do 'til then?!"

"He's got a point," Ren agreed. "We could go nuts."

"Pistachio nuts?" Razule said. Goomba Prince cocked an eyebrow at the strange creature. Razule sighed and hopped off the seat, landing in front of his two partners. "Okay, if you're THAT scared the boredom monster's gonna eat you, I know what weasels we can whack until then."

"Yeah?" Goomba Prince said.

"People only come here to upgrade their weapons, correct?" Razule's two companions agreed. "I know where we can get some weapons," Razule continued. "There's a forest near here with three of 'em. Sound scrumptious?"

"Yes!!" said the crowned Goomba.

"Alright then. BOOMBATEERS AWAY!!" Razule ran right past his two teammates and sped out the door. The Clubba woman watched as the other two guys soon gave chase. The next thing she knew, all three of them had slammed the doors behind them. The woman scoffed and turned to the next page of her magazine.

"I swear, the weirdest people come here..."

* * *

"...'You'll never get him that way,' I said. 'Quit holding back! Show him what you're made of!!' 'I'm trying!' you said. Hmph. Last time I ever help YOU do anything..."

"I'm sorry..."

Two women were standing around in the middle of four statues. All of them bore the likeness of a certain ghost-like man. Apparently, they were things these two witches had spent way too much time being near. Neither of them seemed to be liking a single bit of this. One of them was looking very angry and folding her arms. The other one just looked forlorn. Exactly what they were doing there was unclear, but they didn't look very happy. They sat around awkwardly for a few more seconds. Then, hearing something, they turned their heads and saw three people descending the stairs leading into the vast, dank room and approaching the space between two of the statues.

"Here they are," Doppel said, gesturing towards the two women in the middle of these four statues. They were both scowling at the artistic man, the green one especially. Between the two, she was the taller one and the uglier one. She was donned in a strange-looking purple robe. A frilly thing was around her neck and an odd garment topped off her head. Her eyes were wide, slanted and pink.

The other woman was the shorter, more blue one. Strangely enough, she looked like a pile of transparent, light blue gelatin carved to look like a woman in an elegant dress. Unusual spots and bubbles seemed to be floating around inside of her. Her face donned two black, beady eyes and the back of her head was elongated, almost like a big, blue tentacle. It swayed behind her like a ponytail. Seeing Gorroh, Helga, and Doppel didn't seem to have much of an effect on her, but the other woman was an entirely different story. "You swine!! I'LL KILL YOU!!" The woman snarled and leapt through the air with her claws out like a tiger. Gorroh and Helga gasped and jumped back, but Doppel remained still. BDDZZTT!! The green woman slammed face first into a force field of lightning bolts that suddenly materialized between the two statues. It fried her entire form and sent her sliding to the ground in a pile of smoke. Gorroh and Helga were surprised by this. The blue woman showed no emotion.

"Gorroh, Helga," Doppel said, "meet my prisoners, Ameba and Cackletta." The three of him and the Koopas watched as the one named Cackletta commenced prying herself off the ground. "Normally the magic-using type, I keep them trapped between these four statues. They drain people of their magic powers and give them an electrical shock if they try to leave, as you can see."

"You're dead, Doppel," Cackletta growled as she wiped the dust off of her. "You hear me?! DEAD!!"

"Don't blow a gasket, dear," Doppel mocked. Cackletta just glared at him and snarled some more.

"These were the ones who did this to you?" Gorroh said. Doppel began to rub the burn spots on his arms again.

"There are some pretty bad people in this world, Gorroh," Doppel said. "They do things to you, they lay curses on you... They deserve to get locked up...like Cackletta and Ameba here..."

"We didn't do that, you lunkhead!!" Cackletta yelled. "You probably just burned yourself on the stove, or something!!"

"Don't listen to them," Doppel said. "Come on, let's go." He turned around and began floating up the stairs. Helga was the first to follow. Gorroh stayed behind, though. He continued to stare at Cackletta and Ameba.

"Don't believe a word that guy says," Cackletta growled. "He's scum!!" Gorroh didn't answer. He just blinked at the two sorceresses. Then he turned around and began to go up the stairs as well. Cackletta watched this and let out a disgruntled sigh. She turned around and began striding towards Ameba. "Who are we kidding?" she said. "We're gonna die down here."

"I don't know about that," Ameba said quietly.

"Quiet, you!!" Cackletta spat.

"Yes, ma'am."

The two sorceresses continued to rot in their magic-draining prison while Gorroh continued to follow Doppel and Helga up the stairs. _Interesting,_ he thought. _So they're the reason why Doppel is like this..._

Doppel had something completely different on his mind, however. _I'm sorry, Gorroh,_ he thought. _Although it is true I hold a grudge against those two, they're not the reason why I possess this curse._ The ghost man furled his brow as he began to think something darker. _If anyone finds out the truth,_ Doppel thought, _it could mean trouble..._

* * *

Ren, Razule, and Goomba Prince were back in their Boomba's Shoe and were using it to stampede down the statue-filled Clubba Road. Numerous stone Clubbas whizzed past them, and Goomba Prince started wondering something.

"So, what exactly is this forest we're going to?" he asked Razule.

"Good question, Princy," Razule replied. "It's the Forest of Dheos, a spooky place near the Clover Kingdom's trademark ring-shaped mountain, the RING of Dheos. 'Tis the heart and soul of the Clover Kingdom. Spine-tingling, huh?"

"Uh, I guess so," Goomba Prince responded. Then he returned to his thoughts.

_First Clubba Road, now this,_ he speculated. _This is turning out to be some journey..._ The journey of the Three Boombateers continued beneath the starry sky...


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**  
Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif were standing on the docks at the edge of Silicon. In the water before them were the three guys that helped them earlier along with their jet ski.

"So, where shall you be headed now?" White Rose asked.

"To Noki Bay," Marcelino replied. "This time, all three of us will be going together."

"Enjoy yourselves," White Rose said.

Marcelino nodded. "Good luck on your journey," he said.

"Thank you," the mysterious knight responded. The two groups waved to each other as one of them turned the jet ski around and began to drift away from Silicon. "Well, everyone," White Rose said, "back to the inn..." Xoshi and Leif agreed. The trio commenced walking away from the docks and back to the tavern they were at earlier. It was time to bring another portion of their adventure to a close...

* * *

Boshi still had his legs moving. He was in the Tree Zone. He was walking down a dirt path cutting through a large collection of strange trees. This combined with the fact that it was getting increasingly dark out was beginning to give the ill-fated Yoshi the creeps.

"Man," he grumbled, "I hope not all of Mario Land is like this..." He wasn't feeling particularly cheerful at the moment, but he kept going. He made sure his eyes were peeled at all times. Anything that was to his left, to his right, or right in front of him never went unnoticed. Turning his head frequently helped him accomplish this.

At one point, he was done looking to his right, so he looked to his left. Nothing but a bunch of trees there. Then he heard a strange noise. It was like someone was calling out to him.

The startled Yo'ster turned around and faced his left again. "Who's there?!" he blurted. Alas, upon doing this, he was able to find that no one was there. However, what he did see was a lone, feathered creature perched upon one of the branches of these trees. Beneath a single furled eyebrow, it glared at him with glowing yellow eyes. Boshi felt something cold jolt his spine. "Can it...read my mind?" Boshi wondered. The Yoshi gasped as the creature spread its wings and took to the skies, surprisingly doing so without a sound. Boshi watched as the owl disappeared. "Boy," he muttered, "looking for Yoshi, Xoshi, and Yazzee may not be as easy as I thought..." The spooked-out Yoshi continued looking for his friends as the owl became one with the stars in the sky...

* * *

Millions and millions of little lights were above their heads. This, Tessa noticed as she craned her head back. She stared at the stars for a moment before looking behind her. By doing this, she could see that Big Guy and Wario were engaged in making peculiar movements with their hands and fists. After a few seconds of this, Wario's right hand had begun to make a V with its fingers. Big Guy's fin was held out flatly. Wario grinned and Big Guy slapped his forehead. Wario laughed.

"Okay, okay, how about best ten out of nineteen?" Big Guy said. Waluigi and Laser Snifit snickered at this as their two teammates continued to play the game. Tessa smiled a little. She was intrigued by how quickly those four guys were able to form a brotherly bond with each other. This got the girl to start thinking about her own brother. She turned around and began to look at the stars some more.

_I wonder what he's doing right now..._ She thought this and the five of her and her group went on with being carried across the ocean by their personal Nep-Enut...

* * *

"Good job today, Hyrg."

Two Death Sickles were standing in front of one of the doors of their hideout. The smaller one could still feel droplets of sweat streaming down his face. The taller one was saying goodnight to him.

"Just remember to read that book I gave you," he said.

Hyrg nodded. "Okay," he said. Soon, the wolf left. Having nothing better to do, the young boy twisted the doorknob before him and entered the room they gave him. He closed the door behind him and pushed a breath of air out of his lips. He looked down at the wooden floor. Then he reached inside his robe and pulled out the book in question: the Forgotten Legends. He stared at it a bit, then shrugged his shoulders. He walked up to his bed, flopped onto it, lay on his stomach, and turned to the first chapter.

_A long time ago, twelve incredibly powerful beings known as the Twelve Gods of Chaos appeared and began to unleash their wrath upon the world. This caused an organization known as the Death Sickles to rise to power and challenge them. Battles were fought, lands were ravaged, and people were killed. Fortunately, the Twelve Gods of Chaos have since disappeared, and now the world is safe. But who were they? What did they want? And where are they now? These questions, you are about to find the answers to in this exclusive look at each of the members of the Twelve Gods of Chaos..._

_It's about time,_ Hyrg thought in satisfaction. He turned the page and immediately frowned a bit. It showed a picture of that demonic crystal he had seen earlier.

_God of Chaos #1: The Black Jewel_

_Gender: None__  
__God of: Treasure__  
__Element: Time_

_The Black Jewel was a being that got its power from feeding off of the negative energy emitting from large buildings like castles and temples. It would use that power to transform anything it wanted into anything it wanted. It could turn meadows into deserts and pieces of treasure into monsters._

_Such a thing happened to one such place, the Sacred Forest. It would have happened to others as well had a few allies of the Death Sickles not have stepped in. They were the Spritelings, a race of people from the Sacred Forest. They spoke their own mystical language and possessed the very power needed to thwart the Black Jewel. In one vicious battle, they were able to do just that._

_However, the Black Jewel was an immortal being and couldn't be defeated so easily, so the Spritelings sealed its body and spirit within a tomb in a temple of theirs and never spoke of it again..._

_In order to be revived, someone must free the Black Jewel from its tomb and bring it to a castle with lots of negative energy and treasure..._

"Hmm..." Hyrg hummed as he looked at the book's picture of a rather large, but scary-looking castle as an example. He let the words and the pictures of this book sink in and he turned the page...

* * *

Castle Koopa was still under construction. The entrance to it was being guarded by two big, fat, oversized Para Troopas. One of them was a red-shelled Heavy Troopa. The one to his left a green-shelled Tub-O-Troopa. The one with the green shell was in the middle of telling the other one some story of his.

"...And then he told me, 'Look behind you!' Well, I did that, and it turned out my tail was still right behind me. The end!"

The Troopa in the green shell looked disgusted. "You're an idiot," he said.

"No, I'm Horf!" the other Troopa said, pointing his thumb to himself, a silly look on his face.

The one in the green shell rolled his eyes. "And I'm Torb. What's your point?"

"I like pointy things," Horf said.

"Hoy..." Having nothing better to do, Horf and Torb continued to be on the lookout. It was a boring job, but at least it brought moments without having to listen to someone as unintelligent as Horf. Unfortunately for Torb, these moments didn't last long.

"Hey, Torb, do you see what I see?" Horf said.

"I don't know," Torb groaned. Regardless, Torb took a look ahead of him anyway. Pretty soon, he was seeing it, too: three people walking away from what appeared to be a giant, stuffed doll of some sort and walking along the stone path leading to the entrance of the castle that these two Heavy Troopas were guarding. "Well, what do ya know," Torb said. "You're right."

"No, I'm Horf!"

"Hoy..." In spite of everything, Torb tensed up, stood up straight, and put on as serious a demeanor as possible once these three strangers approached him and Horf. Two of them were talking amongst themselves.

"Now, Guido, should things get ugly, you'll know what to do, right?" one of them said.

"Right," said the other.

"Good."

At last the three strangers had come close enough to Horf and Torb. The green one put on his extra tough guard act. "Hold it, you three! State your business!" he said.

"I'm Foreman Spike, and this is my associate, Guido," Foreman Spike said, not bothering to introduce the woman behind the two of them. "We're here to kick Kamek's ass." The foreman punched his palm.

"That's not very nice," Horf said.

"Yeah, and besides, he's not here," Torb added.

Foreman Spike and Guido looked surprised. "Yeah? Well then, where is he?" Foreman Spike said.

"Well, Spike, I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Torb replied.

"Is that so?" Spike snorted as he drew his hammer. "Well, I'm afraid you will!!"

"I wouldn't mess with us, if I were you," Torb elicited, folding his brutal arms and glaring at the man.

"Just tell us where he is and you won't get hurt." The foreman said this while repeatedly tapping his palm with his hammer. The massive Tub-O-Troopa still wasn't yielding.

"No."

"Alright, punk, you asked for it..." In a flash, Foreman Spike had tackled Torb, sending the two of them rolling around on the ground trying to beat the stuffing out of each other. All three of Guido, Oglian, and Horf were watching all this in shock.

"Oh, dear," Oglian commented.

Foreman Spike had gotten himself atop Torb's chest. He had his hammer upraised, ready to smash the Tub-O-Troopa's face in. Torb thought quickly. He punched the foreman right in the side of his face with his left fist. Foreman Spike flew off of him and started sprawling. Torb had gotten back onto his feet. He commenced charging towards the downed Foreman Spike with his fists flailing. The foreman saw this out of the corner of his eye as he lay on the ground. The Troopa didn't see this next one coming: Foreman Spike flung himself off the ground and slammed both of his feet directly into the gut of the giant turtle. Having gotten the wind knocked out of him, Torb groaned and fell to his stomach. Horf was horrified by the sight of this.

"Hey!! Don't do bad things, you meanie!!" he yelled. The overgrown tortoise began running towards Foreman Spike with his fists out. Alarmed by this, Guido thought fast and swung his hammer out. BANG!! The agonized turtle started groaning and clutching at his crotch. Like his partner, he was down on the ground as well. The other one was struggling to get up, but Foreman Spike slammed his foot down on top of his head, forcing him to stay there.

"Don't move," he ordered. "Guido, get over here."

"Yes, sir." The mustachioed man complied. He stood nearby both his superior and the big, green-shelled man. He held out his right hand. Teal sparks started to fly out of its palm.

"Now, listen here," Foreman Spike told Torb, "this guy here's a master of the Thunderhand." Through his peripheral vision, Torb could see the sparks in Guido's hand had been transformed into a perfect orb of teal electricity. It looked menacing. "Normally, it's just another way for him to hurt his enemies, but it can be deadly," the foreman explained. "Now, are you gonna tell us where Kamek is, or do you wanna know what 1,000 volts of electricity feels like?"

Torb clenched his teeth and began to sweat. He wasn't going to enjoy this, but he didn't feel like he had much of a choice. "The Koopas have a backup fortress," he rasped. "Monet's Mansion; it's in the Clattagin Woods of the Light World. If you want to meet Kamek, I suggest you head there..."

Foreman Spike smirked. "That's all I needed to know," he lifted his foot off of the Troopa's head and faced his two companions. "Guido, Oglian, let's go."

Guido and Oglian nodded. Making his ball of lightning dissipate, he, along with Oglian, began to follow the foreman back to the doll in the waters. Torb watched this in disgust as he brushed the dust off of him. He then walked up to Horf who was still in pain and struggling to stand up.

"You...told him...stuff..." the Heavy Troopa wheezed.

"I know," Torb grumbled.

"Kammeron's...gonna be mad..." Horf went on. Torb shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think he'll be that mad," Torb said. "Besides, Doppel's there. If there's anyone who can take anyone, it's that guy." Horf was standing up again. He was still rubbing where he had gotten hit earlier. His teeth were clenched. "Come on, let's go," Torb said. "It's time for our break, anyway."

"Okay..."

Looking behind him on the sea camel doll, Guido watched as Horf and Torb walked back into the doors of the castle and disappeared. Then the entire castle itself disappeared. Both the sky and the sea had returned to their original colors. The three of him, Foreman Spike, and Oglian had crossed back over into the Light World.

"You know how to get to the Clattagin Woods, old lady?" Foreman Spike asked.

"Of course, dear. We'll be there in no time at all," the elderly woman replied.

"Alright." Foreman Spike kicked back and began to relax again. It was as though the fight he had gotten into with Torb hadn't even happened. Other things were on his mind, though.

_Can't wait to get there,_ he thought. _I've got a score to settle with that Kamek guy..._

* * *

_Here we are,_ Xoshi thought. He, White Rose, and Leif entered the inn. Once they did so, they could immediately notice Pixel scrubbing off some of the tables and Ion cleaning glasses behind the counter. Both seemed to be happy by the appearance of them.

"Xoshi! You're back!" Pixel said. Xoshi smiled and waved to her. She smiled back. Then she looked at Leif. "Who's your friend?" she asked.

"This is Leif," Xoshi replied. "He's amazing."

Leif waved his hand towards Xoshi a little. "Such words," he said modestly.

"Can I get you guys anything?" Pixel asked.

"Just some refreshments, please," White Rose said.

"Talk to Ion," Pixel said, gesturing towards her brother. White Rose nodded and began to walk over to him. Leif followed. Pixel watched them leave and then looked at Xoshi. "So, how was it?" she asked.

"It was crazy," Xoshi exclaimed. "The city was weird, there were these two Magikoopas there, and a giant Melon Bug."

"Oh my gosh," Pixel elicited. While she was listening to Xoshi go into more detail over it, White Rose and Leif were sitting themselves down before Ion and his counter.

"What can I get for you?" he asked.

"Just water, please," White Rose said.

"A Maple Syrup," Leif said.

"Yes, sir," Ion stated. He got to work on serving these things to his customers. During this, the two of them were talking to one another.

"You enjoy Maple Syrup?" White Rose asked.

"Yes," Leif said. "It helps me take on those blasted witches."

White Rose nodded. "If I may implore, what was it that began your campaign against witches?"

"Well," Leif began, "I've always despised witches. They've caused me large amounts of trouble in the past..."

White Rose nodded as he listened to Leif's story. The drinks were coming and Xoshi and Pixel were sitting at a table together. From there, he thought he could hear him say, "And what's weird is that I saw him in a dream once." Then the two of them glanced over at the Viking. Pixel looked slightly bewildered. Leif went on with his tale.

"But apparently, I wasn't the only one," he said. "Eventually I began to train under a man named Errip the Red. He taught me everything there was to know in the field of witch-hunting. Ever since, I've been using this mace and this power of mine to give those foul beings what they deserve..."

"I see," White Rose said. A few seconds later, the drinks had come. Ion placed a moist mug of ice water in front of White Rose and a green bottle of Maple Syrup in front of Leif.

"Enjoy," Ion said as he returned to his work. White Rose and Leif picked up their drinks and clinked them together as though they were performing a toast. While White Rose was lifting his drink closer to his face, Leif was twisting the cork off of his bottle. With his left hand clutching at the bottle and the thumb and forefinger of the other one, he worked hard to wriggle that thing out. One or two seconds later, a definitive POP sounded, and the cork was off, which was exactly when something completely unexpected happened...

TAH-DAHHH!! Fanfare started playing and confetti and balloons were everywhere. All five of Xoshi, White Rose, Leif, Pixel, and Ion were looking around at this phenomenon in utter confusion. Leif was especially confused. He bore witness to this bizarre spectacle while still holding his Maple Syrup and the cork that came off of it. "What is..."

"Congratulations, sir!" Leif jolted. He looked down and saw a bespectacled Bandit standing before him. His robe was green and there were purple stripes around the wrists of its sleeves as well as near the bottom of it, which was long enough to keep his feet covered. He looked at Leif with a smiling face. "Today's your lucky day! You've just opened up the winning Maple Syrup!"

Leif looked shocked. "I have??" he said.

"Yes, sir! Don't believe me? Go on. Reach in there and see for yourself," the Bandit instructed. Leif did so. He stuck his finger inside the bottle. Much to his surprise, what was inside was not sticky at all but rather very smooth and crinkly. He pulled it out, revealing it to be some sort of rolled up note. He unraveled it and took a gander at its fanciful contents. He read its message aloud to the other surprised people in the room.

"'Congratulations, Maple Syrup Drinker, you have won the sweepstakes. Your prize will be delivered to you shortly.'" Everyone was staring at Leif. They seemed to be filled with the same awe he was. He looked up at the Bandit.

"That's right, sir!" he said. "The name's Jammit. Me and my Maple Syrup company have been waiting a long time for this day! So here..." Jammit began to take crates out from behind him and place them before Leif's feet. "Fifty Honey Syrups..." He put one crate down. "Fifty Maple Syrups..." He put another one on top of it. "Fifty Royal Syrups..." Another one. "And fifty Jammin' Jellies..." Leif was astonished. However, this didn't look to be the end of it. "And, last, but not least, this." The Bandit whipped out a big, shiny, black club covered in spikes. "The Raven Mace," Jammit said, "a weapon made entirely of Raven Stone."

"Raven Stone??" Leif said. "That's a very rare substance!"

"Yes, it is," Jammit agreed, "but only certain people can unlock its powers. That, and it's pretty dang espensive." He handed the weapon to Leif. He gladly accepted it. "So be careful with it."

"Thank you," Leif obliged.

"Oh, yes," Jammit stated. He pulled something else out from behind him. They resembled some large tickets. "You've also won an all expenses paid trip to Carnival Alley. Just take these three passes with you and two friends."

_What a lucky coincidence,_ Beel said.

_Huh?_

Leif took the tickets and thanked Jammit. The Bandit made one last congratulatory gesture to the man, smiled, and disappeared in a puff of white smoke. Everyone in the room was still in great surprise by what had happened here. After talking to Pixel a little more, Xoshi got up from his seat and walked up to his two confused teammates in front of the counter.

"White Rose? Leif?" he said, grabbing their attention. "The three people that will be going on that all expenses paid trip to Carnival Alley...is us..."

"Hm?" Leif grunted.

"Sir Xoshi, why is this?" White Rose asked.

"Because...two more of the people we're to find...will be there," Xoshi explained.

"Hmm," Leif said.

"I see," said White Rose. He then gave a nod to the brown Yo'ster. "So it's decided," he said. "As soon as we're finished with these drinks, we'll rest for the night. In the morning, we'll head for Carnival Alley."

"Yes!" Xoshi and Leif said in unison. After reaching that agreement, Xoshi walked over to Pixel and sat down with her again while Leif cracked open one of the many crates he won and pulled out one of its bottles of Maple Syrup. In a few hours, the next chapter of the journey of him, Xoshi, and White Rose would begin...

* * *

Hyrg was on the second chapter of his book. This time, it showed a picture of a gigantic Centaur. His body was laced with intimidating muscles. His head was sporting a long, wavy mane of grey hair in spite of his youthful looks. His face was wrought with strict physical traits, almost making him look like a hawk. His eyes were grey as was his long, wavy goatee. The horse part of his body, similarly, was covered in grey fur. His tail was white.

Although he found this picture of him to be a bit interesting, Hyrg was still a bit dissapointed by the fact that he had just come across another God of Chaos he had already become familiar with. Regardless, he read on.

_God of Chaos #2: Bidden_

_Gender: Male__  
__God of: Centaurs__  
__Element: Energy_

_Bidden's idea of a perfect world was one where the usage of technology was strictly forbidden. Even houses, weapons, and tools were out of the question. He wanted the entire world to be covered in thousands and thousands of forests and jungles. He wanted every last sentient being in it to be forced to survive in the wild using only their wits like animals, for there was nothing he loved more than hunting, and there was nothing he found more satisfying than outsmarting the world's most intelligent beings and drinking their blood._

_Aided by his army of Centaurs, he was able to destroy all kinds of cities and villages and replace each one with a field of buried seeds in hoping they'd all grow to become beautiful forests someday. Quite a bit of Sarasa Land was able to be destroyed this way and many were hunted down like dogs. Fortunately, the Death Sickles were eventually able to beat Bidden at his own game. Assisted by one of them, a woman named Shrell, they were able to set up a brilliant trap for the God of Chaos, serving as the perfect ironic punishment for him._

Hyrg looked at a picture in the book depicting an attractive young woman. She was small and was donning a red tunic, a black belt, black gloves, black boots, and dark grey stockings. Both her hair and her eyes were red. Her hair was spiky and she wore it slicked back. After getting a good look at this picture of the woman, Hyrg read on.

_Using their magic powers, the Death Sickles managed to seal Bidden's spirit deep inside of a stone wall within a cave of Sarasa Land. Ever since, his Centaurs have been lingering there with little else on their minds besides how to revive their master..._

_In order to be revived, 1,000,000 virgin sacrifices must be fed to the Cemetaurs, a pack of bloodthirsty, undead Centaurs in a pit in Bidden's cave that were once his pets..._

The next picture Hyrg saw was not a pretty one. As a result of looking at it, his eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth. What he saw was a pack of centaur-like creatures, mostly black and grey in color, but they looked wrong in more ways than one. Some of them had too many arms. Others had too many legs. Some had arms growing out of the incorrect places. Some didn't even have any arms at all. Some of them had faces that looked as though they were going to melt right off. Everywhere Hyrg glanced at this picture, it proved to him that he hadn't seen everything, even though he would have sworn he had. Simply put, he just didn't like these things.

The first impressions had done their work. Hyrg winced one last time, stared forward, and blinked a few times. After shaking the heebie-jeebies away from himself, he turned the page and went on to the next chapter...

* * *

Horf and Torb had entered the cafeteria of Castle Koopa. It was loaded with a wide assortment of wooden tables. Not too many of them were being occupied at the moment. More specifically, one of them had three people sitting at it: a Magikoopa, a Goomba, and a green Koopa Troopa with an eyepatch. The Goomba and the Koopa Troopa were eating off of trays. The Magikoopa had a strange-looking flower in a pot in his hands. He was giving the other two a lecture on it.

"Right now, it's only a Warp Bud," he explained, "but eventually it'll turn into a Warp Flower."

"Wow," said the Koopa Troopa.

"How long will that take?" asked the Goomba.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," said the Magikoopa. He then pushed himself from his bench and stood up. "Well, Groob, Katsim," he said. "I'll talk to you later. Right now, I've got work to do." The Magikoopa's two friends said goodbye to him and continued eating. While he was walking away, the Magikoopa had managed to arrive in the middle of the path that Horf and Torb were walking down. They stopped once they had reached this Magikoopa. "Horf, Torb," the Magikoopa said. "How are things going?"

"They're going alright," Torb replied.

"No, they're not!" Horf blurted. "A little while ago, this guy came by, and he said he wanted to beat Kamek up, but Torb said he wasn't here, and he told him where he was, and now this guy's going there so he can beat Kamek up!"

The Magikoopa started looking seriously at Horf and Torb's faces. Horf was nervous and Torb had a hand over his eyes. "Is this true, Torb?" the Magikoopa said.

"Yes, Kammeron," Torb responded, "it is."

"Hmm," Kammeron hummed in an annoyed tone. "You do realize the blunder you have made, don't you?"

"Well, yes, sir," Torb admitted. Then he started holding his hands out in a pleading gesture. "But it's not that bad! Doppel's there, isn't he? He'll protect Kamek, won't he? If-"

"-I don't wanna hear it," Kammeron interrupted, waving at the Tub-O-Troopa with one hand to silence him while the other was still holding his potted flower. Kammeron looked at Torb. "What I want you to do," Kammeron stated, "is to find this man...and kill him."

Torb tilted his eyes upward. He shut them and shivered. "Yes, sir," he complied. Horf turned to him with an even more worried facial expression.

"Don't die, Torb!" he begged. "You're my best friend!"

"Ugh," Torb groaned.

"Horf, you're going with him," Kammeron ordered.

"Wha?" Horf said, dumbfounded.

"Just do it, you simpleton," Kammeron demanded. He started pointing at the two tortoises firmly. "And I don't want EITHER of you to foul up this time," he said. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," said Torb.

"Yes, sir," said Horf.

"Good," Kammeron exclaimed. He began to walk past the two gigantic Para Troopas. "I'll meet you two out there," he said. "I'll open up the Light World for you..."

"Yes, sir," Horf and Torb said. They watched as he walked up to one of the doors of the Cafeteria, pushed it open, and disappeared behind it. Horf turned to Torb.

"See," he said, "I told you he was gonna be mad..."

"Hoy..."

* * *

Hyrg had made it to the third chapter. Much to his satisfaction, this one had finally introduced to him a God of Chaos he wasn't already familiar with. The book showed a picture of a 10 ft. tall vampire-like creature with completely white skin and huge, pointy ears. There was a long, pointy beard of slick, black hair hanging off of its face. Its face had very strict features, including thick lips, gigantic cheekbones, a broken nose, red eyes, a pair of constantly furled eyebrows, and, fittingly, a pair of fangs hanging from its mouth. It had a prominent widow's peak and its hair stuck out in three long, wavy spikes pointing upward and behind it. Its tremendous body was wearing a fancy-looking robe of black and red. Only its white hands along with their expensive rings and their long, pointy, black fingernails were exposed. Hyrg found them a bit similar to the hands of most of the Death Sickles. After taking this in, he read on.

_God of Chaos #3: Count Dheos_

_Gender: Male__  
__God of: Swoopers__  
__Element: Shadow_

_Count Dheos, as some described him, was the incarnation of the Seven Deadly Sins. He was narcissistic, he was envious, he was vengeful, he only did things the fast way, he was greedy, he was addicted to drinking people's blood, and he was willing to kill himself just to gain what he wanted. What he wanted was a world where the only person that was allowed to have any money or any treasure was him. Everyone else would be forced to live in the slums and put themselves through torture day and night just to satisfy his needs._

_He had the army to do this. It was an army of Swoompires, intelligent creatures that surpassed Swoopers and even Swoopulas on all levels imagineable. Together, they were able to inflict a serious amount of damage on the Clover Kingdom. His Swoompires may have been as reliable as they come, but there was one person Count Dheos himself could not handle. That was a member of the Death Sickles, a man named Glim._

This time, the book showed a picture of a tall man wearing a strange, black, tube-like garment that covered everything between his waist and whatever was beneath his droopy, yellow eyes. Hyrg couldn't see where his arms were, but he did notice that this man's hair was long and white, his skin was grey, and there were stitches going across his forehead. He wore a pair of shorts, exposing his powerful legs. His bare feet revealed his black toenails. In spite of all this, Hyrg still couldn't locate the man's arms. He found out why in a second.

_Glim was a man who was born with no arms. However, his leg power was the strongest this world has ever known. They say he could even fly all the way around the world just by jumping off of the ground. For reasons that have escaped people for ages, this was simply too much for even Count Dheos to handle. Thus, it was ensured that he was able to leave his mark on the world in the form of the Ring of Dheos and the Forest of Dheos, but nothing more._

_In order to be revived, seven different people must gather; one for each of the seven deadly sins, and one for each of the seven bases built on the Ring of Dheos. Together, they must cast a spell in unison, using their own blood. If this is successful, Count Dheos himself will rise from the center of the Ring of Dheos..._

Hyrg scratched his chin for a bit. He was still letting all this new information he had acquired of the Twelve Gods of Chaos sink in. _Interesting stuff,_ he thought. The boy closed the book up, put it away, and started getting himself ready to hit the sack...

* * *

Horf and Torb were standing in front of the entrance to Castle Koopa once again. Right behind them was the Magikoopa, Kammeron. All three of them were looking out at the vast sea that the castle was surrounded by. Kammeron started talking to these two enormous Para Troopas.

"Horf, Torb," he said, "don't fail me."

"Don't worry," Torb reassured.

"We'll do good!" Horf added.

"Alright then," Kammeron nodded. "Now go." The Para Troopas turned their heads and saluted the Magikoopa. They turned back around, spread their wings, and FWOOMP! They were in the air. Each flapping movement their wings made got them further and further away from the castle. Behind their backs, Kammeron was holding one of his fists out before him. He flicked it open and the spell was complete.

Horf and Torb noticed it as they were flying. The wave of magic engulfed them and made the sky go from pitch black to what appeared to be more of a deep shade of blue. The waves beneath them seemed to have undergone similar changes. They were in the Light World now and there was a certain man they had to kill.

"Horf," Torb said, "you'd better not slow me down."

"I like slow things!"

"Hoy..."

* * *

The night was over for Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif. They each got out of their seats and started getting led up the stairs by Pixel.

"This is your room," the girl said to Leif. She had led him to the door right next to that of Xoshi and White Rose. "If you need anything just give me a call."

"Thank you," Leif said. Before entering, he looked at his two companions. "Xoshi, White Rose," he said, "rest well."

"We will," White Rose said. Then Leif entered his room, leaving only the three of Xoshi, White Rose, and Pixel standing in the hall.

"Well, goodnight, Xoshi," Pixel said.

"Goodnight, Pixel," Xoshi returned. The two people smiled to one another and went their separate ways. Soon enough, all three of Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif were in their respective beds. As Xoshi made himself comfortable beneath the sheets, he and Beel started exchanging some more thoughts.

_It's gonna be another crazy day, huh, Beel?_ Xoshi thought.

_Most likely,_ the Star Warrior thought back.

Xoshi chuckled to himself. _Well, goodnight, Beel._

_Goodnight, Xoshi..._

* * *

Somewhere on a mountain, a man was lying down. Some of his hair had turned dark red from dried blood. He wasn't conscious. Underneath the stars and on top of this rough ground, all he could do was dream away...

He was a young boy. He lived in a world where the ground and the buildings were made of knives and the sky was made of a sea of dark grey clouds, rushing through it like there was no tomorrow. Inside one of these buildings was a dojo. At this dojo was a handful of kids, all of them looking to be of the same race as this boy. One of them was a little taller than the others. His hair was short. With a few expertly executed techniques, he had been able to send another one of the kids crashing to the ground with his sword pointed at his throat.

"Well, well, I win again," the taller boy gloated. He let the downed one get up off the floor, pick up his sword, and return to the crowd. The taller boy looked at all the other kids with a boastful look on his face. "Who's next?" he asked. The kids all gulped. It didn't look as though anyone wanted to oppose this kid. He let a smile of grim satisfaction creep its way onto his face. Then one young boy with long hair and a sword stepped forward. The taller one just scoffed. "You, huh?" he said. The boy didn't say anything. The taller one readied his sword. "Let's do this." The smaller one did the same. They stared at each other for a few seconds. In the blink of an eye, it had begun.

The two boys lunged at each other. CLANG! Both had sent their swords swinging downward as though to deal some damage to each other's heads, but both blows were blocked. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! Using similar maneuvers, they had done this three more times. The small one swung his sword horizontally at his opponent, but he jumped back in the nick of time. The larger one ran forward with his sword pointing directly at his opponent. The smaller one showed no sign of emotion on his face. Once his enemy drew close enough, he swung his right arm up and karate chopped his wrist. This slammed a stinging sensation into the boy's wrist and made his sword fly out of his hands behind him. The crowd that had been watching this gasped and jumped back once the sword landed and stuck itself in the ground before him. BANG!! Their attention went back to the fight. The smaller boy had kicked his adversary harshly in the gut. It immediately made him fall onto his back, clutching at the sore spot. The smaller boy strut up to him and slammed one of his feet onto both of the other boy's hands, making him yelp in pain. SHING!! The smaller boy struck his target. Fear had overcome one of them. Shaking, the other boy slowly looked to his left and saw that the sword had hit the space right by his head. His opponent had spared him.

The smaller boy pulled his sword from the ground and stepped away from the one that had been defeated. Everyone in the room was in awe. They couldn't believe what had come to transpire here.

"Cutlass has defeated Rapier," one of them said.

"Yeah, well..." Rapier was struggling to get himself off the ground. He was still in pain from the fight. "That's just because he's the son of Cutthroat, so he keeps getting all the lucky breaks."

"Yeah, that's it, you spoiled brat!" One of the other kids had joined in. "It's not good enough that you have to have the best clothes. You have to be the best swordsman, too?!"

"You're making the rest of us look bad!!"

"How are we supposed to get better when you're around?!"

Cutlass watched all these kids as they continued to point fingers at him and slander him. All he did was scowl.

"The fact that you can't compare to me," he said, "is not my fault."

"Yes, it is, you jerk," Rapier spat. "Just get out of here. We don't want you here anyway."

The kids all began to glare at Cutlass. The only thing he could do in return was maintain that frown on his face. "Fine," he said. "I wasn't planning on staying any longer anyway," he added under his breath. He walked past the crowd and started heading for the exit. Even with his back turned towards them, he could feel their eyes boring into him. It made him feel as though there was a flame raging inside of him, just waiting to burst through his stomach wall.

"So," he heard Rapier's voice say, "who's next?"

Cutlass scowled and clenched his fist even tighter around the hilt of his sword. _Everywhere I go, people are like this,_ he thought bitterly. _It's not easy being me..._

This whole experience had been a less than pleasant one for the man lying on the ground. Fortunately, it had all been just a dream. It was over and the sun was already rising. He could feel its heat landing on his head and the cool air of the morning was sweeping over his body.

His entire form was in pain, his head especially. He groaned a bit and pried his eyes open. Looking beyond himself, he could see he was in a place he didn't recognize. It was all very confusing for him. He groaned and grunted some more, and began to push his way back onto his feet. He twisted and turned his body around with his eyes shut tightly, trying to get it back into alignment. Once he stopped, he was facing forward with his weary eyes open and his hands on his hips.

The sun hit something shiny right beside him. He could see its blinding light shining through the corner of his right eye. He looked in that direction and found out what it was. It was his sword, lying right by his feet. He stared at it for a second, then decided to bend down and pick it up. He held it with both hands. He examined it a bit as though it were the first time he had ever seen it. Looking down, he located the scabbard on his right hip. He slid the sword right into it.

Then he looked ahead of himself. He was still on a mountain somewhere, and it still wasn't a place he recognized. Regardless, he began to walk away and draw closer to the rising sun. Things had definitely gotten a little more interesting for Cutlass...

* * *

Morning had also reached Silicon. Throughout it, people were getting out of their beds, eating their breakfasts, and heading out the door to attack the new day. Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif were three of these people. After their meal, they had found themselves beside the door to the inn. Pixel was in front of them.

"Bye, boys," she said. "Good luck in Carnival Alley!"

"Thank you, miss," White Rose said to the girl. Then he began addressing his other two partners. "Xoshi, Leif," he said, "to Carnival Alley..."

The Yoshi and the Viking nodded. White Rose pushed the door open and the other two guys started following him. Before leaving completely, Xoshi gave one last wave to Pixel. The girl returned the gesture. She watched the three of them walk away from the inn. There was a dreamy look on her face. _I can't wait to hear how this'll turn out..._


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**  
"Everyone," a pink-robed Bandit said to a bunch of Goombas. The whole lot of them were wearing smiles. "The Maple Syrups have been keeping us quite busy for a while now...but now it's time for them to let us have some fun." The Bandit stepped aside and showed the way in with his extended arm. "Enjoy." With that, the excited Goombas ran forward. Soon enough, their entire group was running rampant throughout the place. Carnival Alley was bursting with life today. There were games and rides for all. However, there were probably also even a few traps...

"Come on... You know you want this..."

Somewhere, a Bandit with a robe long enough to cover his feet was standing right next to a gigantic, brown rock the size of an entire building. His robe matched its color. It even had dots and lines all over it in the right places so it looked as though it, too, was a rock. In his right hand, he held a spear of a perfectly white, perfectly smooth material. He looked ahead of him for some suckers. They could have been anywhere in this crazy place. They could have been near the ferris wheel. They could have been near those games. The list went on and on. After all, that was the way of Carnival Alley.

Lucky for him, today was the day when quite a few Goombas were in town. They all seemed to be wearing strange costumes. Some were dressed like Shy Guys, others were dressed like Super Mushrooms, and so on. Two of them were walking by the spear-wielding Bandit. "Ah, here they come," he said. One of them was dressed like a blue Snifit and the other was dressed like a Sackit. "You, there!" the Bandit called out, causing the two Goombas to stop and face the man. "Yes, you! Think you're man enough to take on Labyrit's Elaborate Labyrinth?"

"Labby's labby what?" said the Sackit Goomba.

The Bandit chuckled. "The name's Labyrit," he said, "and for ten coins you can journey through one of my three elaborate labyrinths. If you can do any of them under a certain amount of time, you win a prize." Labyrit began pointing to various spots on the humungous rock next to him with his spear. The first spot had a small, doorway-like hole in it. "Take the easy one, and you'll win a Jammin' Jelly." He pointed to the medium-sized hole next to it. "Take the medium one, and you'll win THREE Jammin' Jellies." Finally, he pointed to the largest hole. "Take the hard one, and you'll win..." Labyrit reached into the sleeve in his robe, pulled something out, and started dangling it before him so the two Goombas could stare at it for themselves. "...This." It was a pendant. It consisted of a gold chain and a shiny, relatively thin object with five corners. "The Penta Pendant," Labyrit said. "It's as expensive as it is mysterious." Labyrit snapped the treasure into his fist like a yoyo. "So, what do ya say?" Labyrit went on. "Any takers?"

"Honey," the Snifit Goomba said, "I want that pendant. Take the hard one."

"But I-"

"-JUST DO IT!!"

The Sackit Goomba cringed. Reluctantly, he walked up to the Bandit and put ten coins into his left hand. "The...hard one, please," he mumbled.

"Ooh! Excellent choice, sir!" Labyrit praised. "I must warn you, though," he added, "no one has EVER survived it."

"Oh-ho, great," the Sackit Goomba groaned. "For ten coins, I'm going to die."

Labyrit chuckled again. "Don't worry," he said. "If you can't do it in less than one hour, I'll come and get you." The Sackit Goomba breathed a sigh of relief. "But you won't win anything."

"D'oh," the Sackit Goomba groaned.

"Now, hop to it!" Labyrit said, excitedly. The Sackit Goomba uninterestedly dragged himself up to the large hole in the giant rock and stared at it.

"DON'T WORRY, DEAR!! I BELIEVE IN YOU!!" the Snifit Goomba called out. The Sackit Goomba just groaned and unwillingly walked into the cave. The Snifit Goomba watched him do this in excitement and the Bandit watched in sadistic amusement. He pocketed the ten coins he had just won.

_As if believing in him is going to do anything,_ he thought. _That's why this lovely pendant will always be mine..._ The Bandit thought this and started chuckling some more...

* * *

Chogun, Davey, Clarence, Dr. Goom, and Goombil were still in the Kariboo Sub beneath the waves. At the moment, to kill time, Clarence wasn't doing any more of his impressions for their two passengers. Instead, he was telling them some history-oriented story.

"...Ever since, Goomba Grove's been around," he said.

"I see," Davey said.

"So, what you're saying," Chogun said, "is that the reason why it's called Kariboo Island is because it was founded, not by Kuribo the Goomba, but, rather, his brother, Kariboo the Goomba?"

"Yep, that's about it," Clarence stated.

"Ah, I understand now," Chogun replied. The story was completed. Therefore, another speech by Clarence had come to a close. Because of this, Dr. Goom's timing couldn't have been better.

"Good news, gentlemen!" he called out. Chogun, Davey, and Clarence looked his way. The next thing they heard was indeed an exciting one, especially for Chogun and Davey. "Carnival Alley is but a few moments away. We'll be there in no time at all."

Getting any happier was something neither Chogun and Davey were capable of. They could no longer contain it. They vocally expressed their enthusiasm. "YES!!" they cried out. At last, their much awaited salvation could come...

* * *

The captain of the space aliens, Titotal Gonnic, was staring out of one of the long lines of windows in his circular ship. Only three people were with him in this curvy hallway of the humungous device. Two of them were looking very worried about him, for all he was doing was staring at the brass world and the large collection of airplanes outside of the window. He held his right fist against the thick glass while the other hand was clutching at the neck of a bottle of some red, poisonous substance. His eyes were looking lopsided.

"These things...always happen to me," he grumbled. "I give it my all... I put myself through hell... And what happens?!" He lifted the bottle to his lips and downed some of its contents. He put it back down and started lamenting some more. "It all gets taken away from me," he said. "That's no way for a scourge of the galaxy to live..."

"We understand how you feel, sir, but you shouldn't do this to yourself," Katana said.

_"PLEASE... THINK OF YOUR HEALTH,"_ Wart stated.

"You two have a problem?!" Gonnic spun around and glared at his two loyal henchmen. Even in this inebriated state of his, he was still terrifying. Wart and Katana remained silent. Gonnic grumbled and turned around. "Good," he growled. "I'll drink as much as I want."

_"HEAR, HEAR!!"_ said the person next to the captain. It was Gonnic's third henchmen, a frog wearing the same high-ranking, yellow and purple striped uniform as Katana. Like his even higher-ranking superior, he had a bottle of some red stuff in his hand. _"WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS...DRINK LEMONADE!!"_

The drunk frog was about to drink some more when Gonnic turned and glared at him. "Oh, SHUT UP!!!" CRASH!! The captain smashed his bottle over the head of the lesser crew member, sending him falling to the ground in a puddle of the alcoholic liquid. Making the best of the situation, the fallen frog merely began licking off what had gotten on his face, even though it meant getting some pieces of glass stuck on his tongue. The captain growled and faced the window again. "Let's face it," he said under his breath, "we're doomed..."

"NOT QUITE, SIR!" All three of Gonnic, Wart, and Katana turned around. Running towards them was their mechanical crew member, Wrench. He ran up to the captain, who just glared at him. Wrench himself was still in high spirits, though. "Sir," he said, "I finally completed them. The Turbosus are complete!"

Suddenly, everything became silent. The only sound that could be heard was the drunk frog continuing to lick his face. Wart, Katana, and Wrench stared at the captain, patiently awaiting his reaction. So far, he was still glaring. His mouth wasn't moving. Then it started squirming. Slowly, it twisted into a devilish smile. The captain started letting out a deep-pitched, monster-like chortle. "Ex-ssssellent," he hissed. "Show me."

Wrench nodded. "Right then," he said. "Follow me." The silver alien turned around and started walking off in the direction he had come from. Gonnic staggered after him. Wart and Katana were following their captain. As for the drunk frog, he was still lying on the ground, licking himself.

_"MMM... LEMONADE..."_

* * *

Kammelina and Kammeo were back inside their cottage. The younger of the two sisters was very happy about this. She was walking around the place with a smile. She walked directly into the circle of sunlight that the hole in their roof let in. "It's good to be home, right, sister?" she said.

"Yes, yes, Kammeo. Now would you get over here?! I can't stir this potion alone, you know." After nagging at her sibling, the elder of the two sisters threw in one last ingredient into the green goop of the cauldron before her. Once again, it was sitting atop a ring of green flames that were floating above the floor somehow. Kammeo decided to follow her sister's order.

"Yes, sister," she said. She walked up to one side of the cauldron so she and her sister were facing each other.

"Ready?" Kammelina said. She whipped out a wooden spoon.

"Ready." Kammeo whipped out her own spoon.

"Good," said Kammelina. "Now let's begin..." Thus, for the first time in a long time, the two sisters got to stirring and chanting. It would be a few hours until this activity of theirs came to fruition...

* * *

Finally, Titotal Gonnic, Wart, and Katana could see the three Turbosus. The three devices were in the middle of the laboratory, which was the very place that Wrench had led them to. His three guests seemed to be very impressed by the looks of these three motorcyles. They were these slick, black things with silver linings and fancy shapes.

"Like them?" Wrench asked.

"Splendid," said the captain, excitedly.

Wrench smiled. He led the three behind him to these machines and began to explain the various parts of them. He pointed to a monitor-like device that the handlebars seemed to be sticking out of. "When you're driving," Wrench explained, "this will display a map so there won't be anything you won't be able to see. Everything behind you, beside you, and even miles ahead of you will be on this screen." Gonnic, Wart, and Katana held their interest. Wrench went on with the explaining. He pointed to a button near the monitor. "And whenever you want to go into auto-pilot, just press this," he said. "The bike will automatically start driving itself. The beautiful part is that it'll know exactly what to do, where to go, and how to do it, so turning, jumping, and dodging bullets won't be a problem. All you have to do is hang on tight. They can go over 100 MPH, though, so be careful." Wrench's explaining was over. He turned to face the captain. Like Wart and Katana, he was smirking. "So? What do you think?" he asked.

The captain started chuckling some more. Then it started to escalate. "Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh... Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." Finally, it exploded. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!" the captain roared, leaning his head back. "This is wonderful!!" he gloated. "Finally, we'll be able to show that Kreezo who's the boss..." With his eyes still a bit lopsided, he wiped some drool from his grinning mouth with the back of his hand. "In fact," he added, "why don't we try them out right now?"

Katana looked worried. "Sir, I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. After all, with all due respect, you're in no condition to be driving right now."

"Idiot," the captain growled. "Didn't you hear him?! It can be SET...ON...AUTO-PILOT," the alien emphasized.

Neither Wart nor Katana were convinced by this. Even Wrench was having second thoughts. "Actually, sir," he said, "he may have a point there. Maybe you should wait until-"

"-I DON'T CARE!!" the captain yelled. Once again the room was silent. The captain started walking closer to one of the Turbosus. "I'll just...hang on tight..." He hopped on the bike and put his hands and his feet in their respective places. He fondled the handles a bit with his hands. He stopped doing that and looked at Wart and Katana. "Well?!"

They got the picture. Immediately, they rushed over to the other two bikes and hopped on, just as their captain did. Once the captain noticed this, he started chuckling again.

"Open the hatch," he told the nervous Wrench. "We're going out..."

* * *

The tall man in the red robe was walking around the huge brass room. With his two Melon Bugs by his side, he was looking at all the huge piles of wreckage some of its airplanes had become. The one thing he could do at the moment was observe them and titter. "Never has this ever happened," he said to himself. "It was such a beautiful collection. Now this..." The tall man continued walking around. His sense of pity showed no sign of any waning. He was overtaken by disappointment. "If only I knew who was responsible for this..."

The man walked some more. As usual, it was eerily quiet. Then the silence was broken. BANG!! He stopped walking. In the distance, the man would have sworn he had heard something large and metallic hit the floor.

"Hmm..." he hummed. The next noise he heard was indeed an interesting one. It was the sound of motors rumbling. It started off as a whisper, but it grew more intense. After turning his head to his left, he could make out the source of this sound. Three black figures were drawing closer to him. "Aha," he said. "The fallen ones arrive..." A few seconds later, and the rumbling of the engines had gotten even louder. Then the sound was all around the man in red as well as his two Melon Bugs. Then the three black figures screeched to a halt. The captain, Wart, and Katana had them surrounded. "We meet again," he said to the aliens. "Tell me...what brings you into my presence?"

The captain glared at him through his half-open eyes. "We," he growled, "want a rematch."

"I see," said the man in red. "You have your own bikes this time?"

"Damn straight," said the captain.

"I see," the man repeated. He looked at Wart and Katana. Their facial expressions seemed to be a mixture of nervousness, amazement, and confusion. They couldn't stop staring at their bikes. "It's the same rules as last time," the red man stated. "Are you prepared?"

"Yes!!" the captain belted.

"Good." Wart and Katana looked around themselves nervously as the white wind from before began to swirl around and surround them. Only the captain's face hadn't change. "Let's go..." Within seconds, the wind had completely enveloped them. It spun around a little more like a tornado. The speed of its winds were incredible. Then they began to slow down. They dissipated and revealed that all six of the captain, Wart, Katana, the man, and the two Melon Bugs were gone...

* * *

"Just hold that right there."

"Right, boss."

CLANG! Somehow, without using any hands, Carro had gotten a large rectangle of metal to start holding itself in place beneath one of the many control panels of Half Moon. Using a screwdriver, King Carrot had begun to twirl each of its screws in so he could get that thing back into its rightful place. A few seconds later, all four screws were back to normal. The plate of metal was secure. "That's good," King Carrot rasped. The two carrots floated away from their latest feat and looked at it. "Alright," said King Carrot, "now on to the rest of the base." Carro and King Carrot looked around. It turned out there were still numerous torn up spots in the base that needed some attention. Carro again cursed the Melon Bugs that had come here.

"Right, boss," he said. The two carrots began to float on over to the next area that needed fixing. Along the way, they had noticed Boscis was still lying on the ground, panting.

"Still hurt, Boscis?" said the boss.

"Yes, sir," Boscis wheezed. "I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."

King Carrot snorted. "Alright then." The two of him and Carro continued floating around.

_Those Melon Bugs,_ he thought, _they're not to be underestimated..._

* * *

Yazzee found himself standing atop a fancy-looking platform sticking out of the middle of the sea. In front of him were several more of these platforms sticking out in a similar fashion. In the midst of all of them were three humungous towers with what looked like giant seashells sticking out of the tops of them. Behind all of this were numerous steep cliffs. All of this, and a nice waterfall was flowing into this place as well.

"Wow," Yazzee mused. "I never would have pictured Noki Bay to be anything like this." The yellow Yo'ster looked around some more. By turning his head to the right, he could suddenly see something that caught his interest. "Hm? What's that?"

The energetic Yoshi got to hopping his way from one platform to the next. Some of the ones he landed on toppled a bit and made even more ripples send themselves into the water, but he didn't care. A few hops later, and he was there. On this stone ledge at the bottom of the tall cliff was what appeared to be a large, white cube with soft, rounded edges and corners. Each of its six sides were rimmed with indigo. The white that was in the middle of each of them all had these logos on them. They, too, were indigo and they all resembled someone's face.

"What is this?" Yazzee said.

_"It is a special kind of container. You must break it open."_

"Okay," Yazzee said. It didn't take him long to follow SPOWT's instructions. WHAM!! He gave the cube one swift blow with his foot. That did the trick. Immediately, the cube came apart. It popped open and vanished. In its place was a small, strange-looking, metallic, nozzle-like object. "Huh?"

_"That is the Submarine Nozzle. Attach this to me, and I will be able to take you anywhere in the water."_

"Wow! Is that true?" the Yoshi asked.

_"Yes. That is true."_

"Alright!!..."

A few yards away from the yellow Yo'ster was a jet ski-like device beginning to come within proximity of Noki Bay. On it were three people. "This is it, Marcellus," one of them said. "Noki Bay."

"My goodness," Marcellus. "It's beautiful!"

"You like it, eh?" said the old Noki behind them. As the three continued to head towards this place, smiles were on their faces. However, they soon turned into looks of complete shock.

ZZOOOOOMMM!!! Something fast had just whizzed past them. It sent waves of white water flying in its wake. It got all three of the people on this device all wet, but they didn't seem to mind. They were just confused.

"What was that?!" Marcelino asked.

"I don't know," Marcellus replied. "It kind of looked like a goldmine with a pump sticking out of its back..."

The sun's rays bouncing off of Yazzee's jewelry made him look like a shooting star as he sped across the ocean using SPOWT's new Submarine Nozzle. Even he was in awe by this. "SPOWT?" he said. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

_"Negative."_

Yazzee laughed. With his ridiculous amount of jewelry, the new Submarine Nozzle, and the monotonous voice of SPOWT, Yazzee continued in excitement to explore the phenomenon that was Isle Delfino...

* * *

Labyrit's Elaborate Labyrinth wasn't anything like what the Sackit Goomba had expected. As a matter of fact, this was the most confusing maze he had ever endured in his whole life. It wasn't even fair. None of it made any sense. It didn't seem to be anything more than a simple cave with a lot of twists and turns in it. Since the walls were lined with these little ledges of rock sticking out of them, and since each one had a small rock atop it that was glowing white for some reason, he didn't think there'd be any troubles. After all, it allowed him to see. Unfortunately for him, the situation turned out to be much worse than that. It seemed as though no matter where he went, no matter which route he took, three others would always open up before him. The more decisions he made, the less of any use it actually seemed to be. Everywhere he went--be it to the left, to the right, straight forward, or back--it just confused him even more. What kind of maze was this?

"Damn it," the Goomba sweated. "I knew I wasn't going to survive this. I just knew it!!"

In front of him were three more doorway-like openings in the wall. His eyes darted back and forth between each of them. Once he made his decision, he ran forward. He went through the middle one. With a large amount of perspiration on his forehead, he ran down its hallway of stone. Much to his frustration, this had led him to three more openings. This time, he went left. Lo and behold, another trio of openings had showed up. Frustrated, he took the one on the right. He ran through its hallway with even more beads of sweat forming on his burning forehead. It was beginning to steam. Then he came into the next room. What he saw in there made his jaw drop: six doorways. At this point, the Goomba couldn't take anymore. He flopped onto his back and started panting.

"I...just...can't...do it..." He remained lying there for a few seconds more. The only sound he could hear was his worn out breathing. What happened next had taken him completely by surprise. A hole suddenly widened itself open in the solid rock beneath him. "Uh-oh..." the Goomba stated. Then he started falling down a stone tube, screaming all the way. It turned itself into a slide, but he was still screaming. At the end of this tunnel, he could make out some light. It got bigger as he slid closer to it.

Then the light engulfed him. Once it did so, he found himself sprawling across the grass. His screaming had turned into panting. He opened up his eyes. Although it was spinning, he could tell the sky was right in front of him. He was back in Carnival Alley. The Snifit Goomba ran up to him. "Honey, are you alright??" she asked.

"Uugghh..." he groaned.

"Well," said Labyrit with his spear pointing at a hole in the side of the giant rock that wasn't there before, "one hour later, and your friend fails." Somehow, the hole in the rock closed itself up. Labyrit put his spear down. "Thank you for playing. Try again sometime."

The Snifit Goomba helped the Sackit Goomba back onto his feet. "It's okay, dear. How about we go on one of the rides?"

"Ugh..." the Sackit Goomba groaned again. Labyrit smirked to himself as he watched this interesting couple walk away. Now that another victim had been made, he started looking around for more suckers.

"Right then," he said. "Who'll be the next poor sap?" Labyrit kept his eyes peeled. As usual, his next customers could have been anywhere in this place, but, still, there seemed to be just Goombas here. In fact, there were two of them near the outskirts of this place. They were standing near the water just outside of Carnival Alley. A submarine-like device was in it. As for the Goombas themselves, they were standing near a Clumph, a young boy, and something that kind of looked like a giant bug. Could they have been next?

"Thank you for everything," Chogun said. "We won't forget you."

"Ah, don't worry about us," Clarence said. "You just go and find Chirinu. Remember, he's a guy with a purple headband with gold stars and moons on it."

"Got it," Chogun said.

"Hmm," Goombil said. He was looking around. Something about the vicinity intrigued him. "I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why's that?" said Davey.

"This place is loaded with some of the Goombas we used to work with." Chogun and Davey took a look for themselves. It was true. They recognized those silly costumes.

"Wow," Chogun said. "You're right."

"Also, watch out for the Bandits," Dr. Goom warned. "They run this place. Not all of them are too trustworthy."

"We'll be careful then," Chogun assured. "Well, take care." The five people exchanged a few more farewells. In a few moments, Dr. Goom, Goombil, and Clarence were back inside the Kariboo Sub. Chogun and Davey waved to their parascope as it began to drift away from Carnival Alley. Once again, this unusual duo was on its own. "Alright," Chogun said, "let's go find this Chirinu fellow."

"Right," Davey agreed. Then the two-some commenced wandering through a sea of Goombas, Bandits, balloons, stands, and rides...

"Hmm," Labyrit said. He noticed how neither of those two people were looking to be headed in the direction of his giant rock any time soon. This prompted him to start looking elsewhere. This time, the direction he was looking in got him to notice a rather different-looking group of people. This one was a trio consisting of a brown Yoshi, a white knight, and a Viking. "Aha..."

"So this is Carnival Alley," Leif mused as the three of him and his companions exited the lush, green woods behind their newfound destination. "Quite a lively place, I see."

"Indeed," White Rose concurred.

As the trio walked on, Xoshi got to talking to Beel again. _So, who is it this time?_ he asked.

_Well..._

The three-some walked for a little while longer. Then a certain Bandit with a brown robe and a white spear grabbed their attention. "Gentlemen! Where do ya think you're goin'?!" Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif stopped. They looked at Labyrit, being a bit confused. Labyrit pointed his spear to his giant rock. "Don't you wanna take on Labyrit's Elaborate Labyrinth?"

"What?" Xoshi asked. Labyrit laughed again.

"Labyrit's the name. If you wanna take on one of my elaborate labyrinths, now's the time."

"Uh," Xoshi said.

_Xoshi,_ Beel said.

_Huh?_

_Show him your pass and say you'll take the hard one._

_Why?_

_When I was possessing the Princess Shokora doll, this man made me undergo his most difficult labyrinth. Had I have known then what I know now, I wouldn't be asking you to do this, but please... It's something I've been meaning to do for quite some time now._

_Ohh..._ Xoshi thought. _So it turns out there are some things in the past not even YOU can leave behind, huh?_

_You could say that._

_Alright, I'll do it._

_Thank you._

"White Rose, Leif," Xoshi said. His two partners turned to him. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up to you."

"Sir Xoshi, you're not actually considering accepting this man's challenge, are you?" White Rose asked.

"Sorry, but I have to," the brown Yo'ster replied. "Just remember, one of them's a bug and the other one's a little boy."

"Alright, Xoshi," Leif said. "Good luck."

"You, too," Xoshi replied. Labyrit watched as the knight and the Viking walked away and the brown Yoshi approached him. Xoshi held out his fist. Catching on, Labyrit placed his hand beneath it. Then the Yoshi popped his pass out from between his fingers. Labyrit looked disappointed, but he lightened up after hearing what he had to say. "The hard one, please," said the Yo'ster.

"Excellent choice, sir," Labyrit responded. "Good luck!"

The brown Bandit watched as the Yoshi walked up to the large doorway in the giant rock. He gave off another one of his trademark smirks. _You're gonna need it..._

When Xoshi entered the cave, he found himself walking down a stone hallway with strange glowing rocks on ledges coming out of the walls keeping it alight. Those things fascinated the brown Yo'ster. _What are those?_ he asked Beel.

_Sun stones,_ Beel answered. _Only people with earth-elemental powers can create them._

Xoshi gasped. _That Bandit has earth-elemental powers??_

_Well, sort of..._

Xoshi continued walking until he reached a room in this crazy maze. It had three doorways at the end of it. _Okay, Beel,_ the Yo'ster thought, _just tell me what to do..._

_Alright..._

Chogun and Davey were seeing quite a few strange things while wading through Carnival Alley. Mostly what they saw were Goombas jolting at the sight of them and jumping back. One of them was so startled, he started choking on his cotton candy.

"I'd say we had a stronger impression on them than we thought," Davey commented.

"Indeed," Chogun agreed. "Now what was it he said? A man with a purple headband?"

"With gold stars and moons on it," Davey added.

"Where are we going to find a person like that?" Chogun asked. The two men started turning their heads everywhere and scanning every last inch of the place. They saw a psychic, a funhouse, a haunted house, a balloon stand, a man that drew caricatures, and a booth that sold giant cookies, but no Chirinu. "Ugh," Chogun groaned. "We'll never find him at this rate."

"Hmm..." Davey looked ahead of him. He could see that beyond all these strange booths and games, and right in front of the forest that Carnival Alley was built near was a small man behind a table. Its cloth seemed to resemble the man's headband. "By any chance," Davey said, "could that be him over there?"

Chogun started looking in the direction that Davey was. Once he saw it, he could feel his heart do a back flip. "Yes! Yes! That must be him!!" the bug cheered. "Come, David, we haven't a moment to lose!!"

The bug ran off. Shortly afterwards, the boy began to follow. Both of the men were running rather quickly. As they ran, blurs of red, white, gold, and other swirling colors flew past them. Then it just became green. They were out of the attractions of Carnival Alley and into the grassy field surrounding it. Every step took them closer to Chirinu. Once they were finally but a few feet away from him, Chogun skidded to a halt. Davey did the same, but only because his friend had done so. "Chogun, what's wrong?" he said. Chogun was shaking and sweating. Slowly, he extended one arm and pointed with one of its three fingers. Davey took a look. He noticed the man was actually wearing his headband over his eyes. "So, he's blindfolded. So what?"

"D... Dog..." he choked. Davey looked again. It turned out the man that was wearing that odd headband was a creature with fangs and orange fur. Chirinu was a Chow.

"Problem, gentlemen?" Chirinu said.

"Um, no, it's nothing," Davey reassured. He turned and walked closer to his bug of a companion. "Chak, get a hold of yourself," he said. "I know he's a dog, but our salvation rests in his hands."

"I...hate...dogs," Chogun rasped.

"Please, Chak," Davey pleaded, "just this once, don't let your fears get the best of you."

Chogun quivered for a few seconds more. With a great amount of difficulty, he closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "A-Alright," he said. Davey nodded to him and started walking towards Chirinu. Chogun slowly followed him.

"Sorry about that, sir," Davey said.

"'Tis no trouble," Chirinu replied.

"Anyway, would you by any chance be Chirinu?"

"Yes, that would be me."

"That's good," Davey said. "I am David, and this is my friend, Chak, but we are more commonly known as...Davey and Chogun..." Davey shuddered a bit and looked down.

"Nice to meet you," Chirinu said.

"Yes," Davey said. He picked his head up again and looked at the dog. "Anyway, we need your help," he said. "A little while ago, this green goop came by and transformed us. Ever since, Chak's been this bug-like creature, and I've been a little boy. Can you help us?"

"Well, that depends," Chirinu stated. "I don't do anything for anyone, you know. My services come with a price."

"I suspected as much," Davey replied. He started to reach into his pocket. "How much is it?"

"You need to give me a doll," Chirinu clarified. Davey stopped reaching into his pocket. He gave the dog a blank stare. "But it can't be just any doll. It has to be one with a nice, distinct flavor; one that I've never licked before."

There was a long pause. Davey stared at Chirinu even more. "Pardon me, good sir, but did I hear you correctly? Did you just say-"

"-That I wanted a doll with a nice, distinct flavor? Yes, that's exactly what I said," Chirinu elaborated. "Oh, and you can't show it to me, either."

There was another pause. Davey started shifting his eyes around. "Okay," he said. "We'll be back in a second." He turned around and began to walk away from the dog. Then he looked behind him and noticed that Chogun was still standing there, shaking. "Well?!" he blurted. "Come on! We don't have all day!!"

Chogun snapped out of it. "What?!"

"Come on, Chak, let's go," Davey said.

Chogun slowly began to follow. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"We're going to get a doll."

Chogun suddenly became very confused. "A doll?? What for?"

Davey looked slightly annoyed. "Weren't you listening?"

"Sorry, but I wasn't."

Davey groaned. He continued walking back to Carnival Alley, all the while explaining everything to his companion...

Xoshi came across a room with three doorways in it. He took the left one and started running down its hallway. Like the last one, this one led to another room with three doorways in it. This time, he took the one in the middle. Another hallway, another set of three doors. He took the one on the right, and the process repeated. Once he came across another set of three doors, he took the one on the left. Once again, he began running down a stone hallway.

_You sure about this, Beel?_

_Trust me._

_Alright..._

White Rose and Leif were wandering through the various attractions of Carnival Alley, making sure there was nothing their eyes didn't see, but the two people they were looking for didn't seem to be anywhere in sight.

"This may very well prove to be rather difficult," Leif pointed out.

"Yes," White Rose agreed. "Perhaps we should ask around?"

"Yes," said Leif. The duo approached the only four people close enough. The four of them were all Goombas clad in Shy Guy-like outfits. One of them had a big, white mustache hanging from his mask. The quartet looked as though they had just seen a ghost.

"Excuse us," White Rose said. This woke them up. They all jolted and faced this duo that had approached them. "We're looking for a bug man and a young boy. Would you happen to have seen anything of the like?"

"Chogun and Davey??" said the one with a mustache. "What would you wanna do with those two jerks?!"

"Excuse me?" Leif said quizzically.

"We used to work for someone who would keep an entire town under his control by forcing its people to watch really boring plays, starring us," the Goomba explained. "Apparently, four guys didn't like this, so they stormed our fortress and kicked the crap out of us." The other three Shy Guy-like Goombas started nodding. "Two of them were those two guys you're looking for. They're here right now! But I'd stay away from'em if I were you; they're dangerous!"

"Which way did they go?" White Rose asked.

"That way." The mustachioed Goomba pointed to a Chow in the distance. "But I'm tellin' ya, you'd better stay away from'em."

"Thank you for the information," White Rose said. "Good day." The knight began to walk away, but the Viking stayed behind. The Goomba with the mustache was a little perplexed by this.

"Where's he going?!" he asked Leif. "Didn't I just tell him they were too dangerous??"

"We need their help," Leif answered.

"WHAT??"

"It's a long story," the Viking said. "Now, you say you starred in these uninteresting plays?"

"That's right," the Goomba said. "Not anymore, though."

"Out of curiosity, who did you play?" the Viking asked.

"Me? I played the Shy King."

"But I don't think the Shy King had a mustache," Leif elicited. "I doubt he'd be pleased with your portrayal of him."

"Yeah, well, the plays were never really historically accurate to begin with anyway," the Goomba replied. "Besides, they say he's dead now. What difference does it make?"

"A minute one, perhaps," the Viking mused. "Well, I must be going now. Take care."

"Alright, see ya." Leif began to saunter away from the four Goombas. They watched him do so for one second. "I tell ya," said the Goomba dressed like the Shy King, "things just aren't the way they used to be..."

At this point in time, White Rose had gotten to wrapping up the short discussion between him and Chirinu. "So that's it then?" he asked. Chirinu nodded. "Alright." White Rose turned around. He saw Leif walking towards him. "You arrive at last," he said.

"Sorry," Leif exclaimed. "They seemed like such interesting folk. As a result, we conversed for a bit, as you can see."

"Hm, yes," White Rose stated. "Anyway, according to this man, here..." White Rose gestured to Chirinu behind him. "...The two people we're to meet, Chogun and Davey, plan on returning to this very location momentarily."

"So all we have to do is wait," Leif reasoned.

"Exactly," White Rose said.

"Alright then." Leif walked to White Rose's left side and turned around, folding his arms. That way, the two of him and his teammate looked as though they were acting as Chirinu's bodyguards. "Say," Leif said, "I wonder what our friend, Xoshi, is doing right now..."

At that moment, Xoshi was still journeying through Labyrit's Elaborate Labyrinth. He had just entered the doorway on the right, so he had just run through another hallway. Again, this led him to three doorways. He stopped and looked at them.

_You say this is the last one?_ Xoshi asked.

_Yes,_ Beel answered. _You know which one to take, right?_

_Right._

_Go for it..._

Xoshi nodded and made his decision. He picked one of the three doorways and started running down it. Soon, he'd be able to see the outcome of all this...

Meanwhile, outside of the giant rock, Labyrit was still waiting for Xoshi. "That Yoshi's got 15 more minutes," the Bandit said to himself. "Yup... He's hopeless. As a matter of fact, he should be in front of the six doors by now. That's where all the lousy applicants wind up." Labyrit chuckled to himself sadistically. "Fifteen more minutes and he'll-"

"-Ahem."

"AUGH!!!" Labyrit jumped a few feet into the air. He landed and turned around. The Bandit nearly had a heart attack. He clutched at his chest and gave an unblinking stare to who had snuck up on him. It was none other than Xoshi with his palm held out as though expecting to be given something. "YOU!!" Labyrit practically screamed. "H-H-How did you do it?? How did you conquer my labyrinth??"

"Easy," the brown Yo'ster said. "All I had to do was keep going left, straight, right, left, straight, right."

"But... But..." the Bandit stammered. Droplets of sweat were flying off of his forehead. "No one's EVER done it before! EVER!!" The Bandit started looking shifty-eyed. He lowered his tone a little. "Well, actually, there was ONE person who came pretty close. Her name was-"

"-Princess Shokora?"

"Yeah, that was it. I-" The Bandit stopped himself. He felt as though his heart froze. He started staring at Xoshi in pure disbelief with his eyes twitching. "I... You... That's..." the Bandit stammered. Finally, he got a hold of himself. "Just who are you, anyway?!"

"Xoshi." The Yo'ster said this as though he were a celebrity. He was still holding his palm out. "I believe you have something for me?"

"But... You're... That's not..." Labyrit took a good look at Xoshi's face. It was very smug and uncaring. His hand made a beckoning movement. The Bandit groaned. With his hand shaking and his teeth gritted, he pulled something out of his right sleeve, acting as though it were covered in something semi-liquid and unpleasant. He slammed it into Xoshi's hand disgustedly. "Go on, take it," he hissed. "Now get out of my sight..."

Still with an overtly confident look on his face, Xoshi closed the item in his hand and strut away from the infuriated Bandit. He walked past a group of Goombas that were all dressed like Super Mushrooms. They stared at him with their mouths agape. They couldn't help but voice their amazement.

"Did you see that?"

"He beat the hard one!"

"He got the pendant!"

"He's amazing!!"

"Who is that guy??..."

Watching that Yo'ster strut away and hearing what the people were saying about him only got Labyrit to learn to loathe even more the first person to have ever made HIM the victim. Both of his hands were clenched around his spear and were squirming. It was as though they were trying to strangle the weapon. "Oh, he'll pay for this humiliation," the Bandit growled to himself. "Someday, I'll show him a REAL elaborate labyrinth... And I'll have my pendant back..."

Xoshi was back amidst all the other attractions of Carnival Alley. While walking around, he opened up his right hand. Inside, he saw the nice and shiny Penta Pendant. No doubt, it was worth something, but that wasn't necessarily what made Xoshi's eyes bug out. He suddenly stopped walking. He couldn't stop staring at what he had won.

_What is it, Xoshi?_ Beel inquired.

_This pendant,_ Xoshi thought, _it was in my dream._

_Your dream?_

_Yes,_ Xoshi said. Thus he began to tell the Star Warrior in his head of the strange dream he had on two consecutive occasions...

Elsewhere, Chogun and Davey were walking around Carnival Alley, searching for something. Chogun was doing this at a slower rate than Davey was. In a way, it irritated the boy.

"Dogs," Chogun shivered, "I tell you, they're no good!!"

"Chak, please," Davey said. "How are we supposed to find a doll if you keep going on about that?"

"They're no good," Chogun grumbled. Davey sighed. The duo continued walking. Then they heard someone yelling about something and they stopped.

"Calling all sharpshooters!! This is the game for you! If you think you're handy with a gun, then come on down! Make today your lucky day!"

Chogun and Davey saw that the man yelling was a Bandit in a pink, regular-sized robe. There was a big, curly, dark brown mustache on his mask and he was standing behind a counter beneath a stand of some sort. To its right was a small, tent-like structure that was striped red and white. "Sharpshooters, did he say?" Davey said. "I wonder if he's got any dolls on him?"

"Who knows?" Chogun said. The two of him and Davey meandered up to the bandit with the mustache. Immediately, he could tell his yelling had come to pay off.

"Hey, fellas," he said. "Looking to try your luck?

"Yes, actually," Davey said. "You wouldn't happen to give out dolls as prizes, would you?"

"And how." The Bandit gestured behind him. Behind the counter of the stand was what appeared to be a whole mountain of stuffed dolls, each of them coming in all shapes and sizes. Chogun and Davey's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Jackpot," Chogun hissed excitedly.

"So, how 'bout it?" the Bandit asked. "Which one of you's up to the challenge?"

"I am," Davey said.

The Bandit chuckled. "Alright, little fella, you're up." Davey rolled his eyes. "Ten coins, please." Davey paid the price. The Bandit reached behind him and pulled out a fancy-looking, bulky, hi-tech gun. After grabbing the gun with his right hand, Davey noticed it was just a toy. "Take this, too." The Bandit handed him what looked to be a circular red light stuck to an assortment of black belts. Davey strapped it onto his chest like a vest. "In that tent, your enemies will be wanting just as much a piece of you, as you do them, so watch out! Don't get hit three times!" the Bandit explained. "Now, as soon as those pesky Bandits start attacking ya, you just shoot'em, alright?"

"Got it," Davey replied as he twirled the gun around his forefinger and snapped it into the correct position.

The Bandit behind the counter raised an eyebrow at him, but was able to quickly shrug it off. "You ready?"

"Ready."

"Alright then," he Bandit said. He pointed to his right. "Now go! And make sure you can get ten of'em!!"

Davey nodded. He ran off and disappeared into the tent. He was more than ready to take on the trials that lied within...

Davey was surprised by what he found out was inside the tent. There was a maze inside this thing. Everything in it was chrome. As he looked around, he took all this in along with the blue lights keeping the place illuminated. Still caught up in his interest in the vicinity, Davey kept observing his surroundings. It nearly cost him.

Suddenly, a silver Bandit leapt out from behind one of the metallic walls. Like David, he had a vest and a gun. Davey saw this new enemy out of the corner of his eye and thought quickly. He jumped to the right and landed his back against the nearest wall, causing the Bandit to fire at nothing in particular. He was confused, then terrified. Davey pointed his pistol at his vest and fired. TSSEEWW!! Once he pulled the trigger, the red light on the Bandit's chest started blinking. He flailed his arms as though he were in complete agony, and then he disappeared. The way he did so made him resemble the image on a TV being turned off. Davey raised one eyebrow at this. "I guess they're not normal Bandits," he mused. The surprised boy got himself off of the wall, took a turn, and started heading on into the maze...

So far, all that was going on for him was just the act of being sandwiched between two of the chrome walls. Then he heard the shuffling of some feet behind him. He turned around. As he did so, just by seeing a hint of silver with his peripheral vision, he could tell what he had to do. TSEEW!! The enemy's attack did no good, for Davey had voluntarily fallen onto his back. No sooner than when he did so did he make his retaliation. TSEEWW!! The boy had made another victim. He hopped right back onto his feet, turned around, and continued running through the place.

A turn to the right and he was at an intersection in the chrome vicinity. He could either go left or right. Neither turned out to be a good option. One silver Bandit leapt out from both of them, each of them with their teeth clenched and their guns pointed to the young boy. Davey thought this was too easy. He ducked and the Bandits fired. TSSEEWW!! The impudent gunmans had fired at each other, causing both of them to vanish. Having survived another danger, Davey got back up and turned to the right.

After taking a few turns here and there, Davey found the maze had taken him to a wide open area. The place had become less of a maze and more of a field filled with chrome walls of varying shapes and heights. Davey knew somehow that this spelled trouble. Then TSSEEWW!! This time, he found he was the one whose red light started flashing. He turned around and saw two more Bandits were wanting a piece of him. Immediately, he fired at the one at the right. Another one had disappeared. He turned to the other one who ducked behind one of the miniature walls. Davey watched and waited. Then he saw two eyes and a gun poke out from behind the wall. TSEW! TSEW! TSEW!! Davey just jumped sideways in order to avoid the blasts. He saw the Bandit duck behind the wall again. The Bandit waited a few seconds, hearing his opponent's footsteps beginning to draw closer to him all the while. He made his countdown, decided the time was right, and he jumped up again. He pointed his pistol at Davey with unsuccessful results. TSSEWW!! The Bandit had been hit. He clutched at the light on his chest in pain and he vanished.

"These guys are a joke," Davey muttered to himself. "I wonder who's gonna try me next?" Davey heard more shuffling feet. He turned around and found three silver Bandits had entered the room. They all had their guns pointed at him. Davey smirked. "So you're next." The Bandits all took aim and fired. TSEW! TSEW! TSEW! Davey avoided the assaults by taking a dive and rolling on his side. The minute he was anywhere close to back on his feet, the Bandits had already begun to run. They were circling him and keeping their eyes on him. Davey decided to take the easy one down first. Before the one at 11:00 could get his gun back up, Davey fired. TSEWW!! Another one winced and vanished. The boy's ears picked up some clicking from behind him. Almost instinctively, he pointed the gun over his right shoulder and fired. TSEWW!! The next thing the shrunken man knew, a silver Bandit had just flown right over his head. His eyes were clenched shut and he was clutching at his light as though it were his heart. The boy cocked an eyebrow at him upon seeing him sprawling across the ground. He stared for a split-second. Then the Bandit opened one eye, grinned, and TSEWW!! For the second time, Davey's light was the one that went off. "Damn it!!" he cursed. Confused, he looked behind him. He had just missed another Bandit disappearing. Once he heard running, he woke up, and spun around with his gun held out. BAM!! The Bandit that had gotten him earlier went sprawling again. Apparently, he had just accidentally whalloped him in the side of the head with his gun. Again, the boy was confused, but he merely shrugged it off. For the ninth time, he aimed, fired, and won. TSEWW! "Hmph," Davey grunted after witnessing the last writhing Bandit dematerialize. "One more left..." He began to scan the room with his gun twirling around his right index finger. Then...

WHAM!! This time, Davey was the one sprawling, but someone was on top of him. Once the spinning came to a stop, the boy was on his back and he was staring into the grinning face of a particularly insane silver Bandit. This final enemy jammed two guns in front of Davey's light. It confused the child at first, but then he realized his situation. The Bandit had an extra devilish smirk on his face when SPLAT!! A wad of phlegm landed in his eyes. The shocked Bandit flew off of the boy's chest, dropped the guns, and proceeded in desperately rubbing the gunk out of his eyes. Davey took his turn to smirk.

"It takes more than just two eyes and a finger to be a sharpshooter," he remarked. By the time the Bandit had regained his vision, he was squinting at his opponent's triumphant face. He looked shocked for a second and TSSEEWW!! He had come to suffer the same fate his other nine brethren had. The light flashed and he winced as though he had become electrocuted. The last thing he saw was Davey's smirk...then his perplexed look. The Bandit had given him another mischievous grin. Then he vanished...

TAH-DAHHH!! The victory music started up and Davey was being showered with confetti and balloons. However, he remained confused. He was still staring at where that last Bandit had disappeared. Thoughts ran through his head for a second. Then he just scoffed. "Bandits wanting a piece of me," he said quietly. "He wasn't lying..." The young boy continued to let the colorful things fall on him. Then he began finding his way out...

At this point in time, Xoshi was still wandering around Carnival Alley. The Penta Pendant was still in his hands and another conversation had been wrapped up between him and Beel.

_So, with Leif and this pendant, the dream is finally gradually coming true,_ Beel commented.

_I guess,_ Xoshi thought. He started turning his head everywhere again. _Speaking of which, where did Leif go? And White Rose?_

_And, more importantly, where are the other two?_

_Hmm..._

"...And ever since, I've been terrified by dogs..."

Chogun was finished with his anecdote. The Bandit with the mustache nodded with his head being held up by one leaning fist. "Doesn't sound too pleasant," he commented.

"Indeed..." A few seconds later, a young boy had exited the mustachioed Bandit's tent. Davey was back in their presence. Both Chogun and Davey were excited.

"Well done, son!" the Bandit congratulated. "Was it scary?"

"Not really," Davey stated, handing the gun and vest back to the man.

The Bandit laughed. He took Davey's gear and put it away. "That's good to hear. Well, son, go ahead..." The Bandit gestured at all the dolls behind him. "Take your pick. You've earned it..."

"Hmm..." Davey held his chin between his thumb and forefinger. He could see there were numerous dolls to choose from, but the majority of them were just stuffed Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Spinies. Only a few of them appeared to be more exotic, like the devil or the cactus. However, only one of them really caught Davey's eye. He pointed to it. "That one."

"Ah, that one..." The Bandit started staring at it. He seemed to be greatly interested in it for some reason. This puzzled Chogun and Davey. He walked over to it and picked it up. It was a wooden doll that vaguely resembled a young woman. Strangely enough, there were scorch marks all over her purple dress and half of her head looked as though it had been burned off. "She caused us a bit of trouble, she did," the Bandit elicited. "All that death and destruction... Fortunately, we weren't the ones she was after..." Chogun and Davey began to look even more confused. "Then, years later, this doll comes to life and..." The Bandit's two customers suddenly began to look very shocked and disturbed. The Bandit noticed this and snapped out of it as though he was just having a dream. "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to reminisce." The Bandit handed the doll over to Davey. "Her name's Princess Shokora," he said. "Take good care of her, now."

"Thank you," Davey replied. "We'll see you later."

"See ya!" The Bandit smiled and waved to his two customers as they took their leave of him. He watched them walk away from his stand for a few seconds. Then he started holding his head up with his fist again. A distant look was on his face. "That woman," he said, "so troublesome..."

Near the edge of the woods, White Rose and Leif were continuing to wait. More specifically, White Rose was on the lookout while Leif was conversing with Chirinu.

"But in order for the spell to work right, I have to put the doll on my head," Chirinu explained.

"Hm, I see," Leif said.

_What a strange fellow,_ the Viking thought.

"Anyway, those two guys had better come back soon," Chirinu exclaimed. "I'm anxious to try a new doll."

"Yes."

"In fact," Chirinu added while catching a glimpse of White Rose putting a hand over his eyes so he could see ahead of himself better, "I think they're coming back right now..."

"I tell you, David, this shall be a day to remember!" Indeed, Chirinu's latest two customers, Chogun and Davey were close by. They were both walking towards the stand with looks of excitement upon their faces, especially Chogun.

"I know," Davey agreed.

"We'll be back to normal and back to treasure hunting before the day is out!" the bug man said. The two men smiled for a second more. Then they noticed that two people were with Chirinu. They kind of looked as though they were waiting in line. "One of them has an ugly face and the other one's a fish?" Chogun guessed.

"Who knows," Davey chided.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," White Rose said as he bowed his head to them a bit. "Might you be Chogun and Davey?"

"Yes, that's us," Chogun replied. Davey had one of his hands massaging his eyelids in disgust.

"I am White Rose, and this is Leif," the knight went on, gesturing to the Viking in the process. Leif waved a little in response. "We have a friend named Xoshi," White Rose continued. "He has something important to give you."

"Im... Important?" Chogun stammered. "What could it be, I wonder?"

"Well, whatever it is," Davey interjected, "can it wait? We've kind of been meaning to do this for a few days now."

White Rose nodded. "Of course. Do what you will."

"Thank you." With that, Davey began to approach the blindfolded Chirinu. It didn't take him long to notice that Chogun was lagging behind. He looked behind him and gestured for the man to hurry it up. With cold sweat pouring all over his body, he began to shuffle forward. Once the two men were right in front of the dog, he began to speak.

"You have the doll?" he asked.

"Right here," Davey proclaimed. He whipped out the doll and handed it to the canine. Chirinu began to examine it. Chogun, Davey, White Rose, and Leif watched as this man bobbed the doll up and down, flipped it this way and that, and even shook it as though it were a present. Finally, he held it right in front of his mouth. His long, moist, floppy tongue popped out of his mouth. The dog's four customers were anxious. At last, Chirinu's tongue landed on the doll's side. He slid it up the thing as though he were painting it. SLLURRPP!! He popped his tongue back into his mouth and he began smacking his lips. He handed the doll back to Davey. "Well?" the boy said.

"I THOUGHT it tasted familiar." Chogun, Davey, and Leif's eyes bugged out and their jaws dropped. White Rose just furled his brow.

"But...but...but..." Davey stuttered as he resumed holding the doll, albeit with shaking hands.

"Sorry. Try again."

Chogun, Davey, and Leif remained standing with shocked looks on their faces. The few seconds of silence were broken by White Rose stepping forward. "Come on," he said, "we'll help you get another one."

The other three were still a bit busy wallowing in their disbelief, Chogun and Davey especially. Finally, Davey just said, "Alright." With that, the four men began to walk away from Chirinu's stand and back to the rest of Carnival Alley...

Not too far away, Xoshi was still walking around, looking for his companions. He was looking a bit frustrated. "Stupid place has to be so stupid big and full of stupid Goombas," he grumbled.

_Don't despair, Xoshi,_ Beel chimed in. _Look..._

Xoshi stopped and looked ahead of him. Out there in the middle of the grassy field between Carnival Alley and the forest were White Rose and Leif along with two people that seemed to match the description of who he was looking for. "Well, I'll be..."

"What'd I tell ya?" Chogun griped. "Never trust dogs."

"Yes, Chak, I know," Davey said irritably. Suddenly, both White Rose and Leif stopped and waved. Confused for a second, Chogun and Davey stopped and looked ahead of them. A brown Yo'ster was approaching them.

"Xoshi, sir," Leif said, "it's good to see you again. Did you beat that man's labyrinth?"

"And how," the Yo'ster snickered. He pulled out the Penta Pendant and dangled it in front of him for all to see. They all seemed very intrigued by it.

"That must be worth a pretty penny," Chogun commented.

Leif just stared at it thoroughly and rubbed his chin. "Hmm..."

Davey ended the admiration of the pendant early. "So, you're Xoshi?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," the brown reptile replied. He put the Penta Pendant away.

"Your friends, here, tell us you have something important to give us."

"That's right." Xoshi suddenly took out two wands, one with a grey jewel, the other with a dark grey jewel. The former was in his left hand, and the latter in his right. Chogun and Davey stared at them in admiration. "The Energy Wand and the Time Wand," Xoshi clarified, "you'll be needing them."

"What for?" Davey asked.

"Well," Xoshi responded, "as hard as this is to believe...there's something out there. It's called the oncoming evil. It's threatening the fate of the world. Only seven people with seven wands can stop it."

Chogun and Davey looked wide-eyed. Their gazes kept alternating between Xoshi's eyes and the wands he was holding. "So," Chogun started, "what you're saying..."

"If you don't believe him..." Leif was the one who was talking. The two of him and White Rose had taken out their red and green wands. Chogun and Davey looked at them in awe. "Just take the wands. You'll know they're truly from the Star Spirits themselves. Believe me, I know..."

Chogun and Davey exchanged confused looks. "So fast," Chogun said quietly.

"I know," Davey quietly said back to him, "but, for now, let's just play along..."

The two men faced Xoshi once more. They reached out and took the wands. Chogun took the Energy Wand and Davey took the Time Wand. They couldn't feel anything at first, but that changed dramatically in just one second. For the third and fourth time, a vigorous spiral of energy could suddenly be felt. Chogun and Davey could feel extremely surprised as they felt this sensation emanating throughout their bodies. A few seconds later, the feeling disappeared, but remained tingling. They were both still very surprised. "That... That's unbelievable," Chogun breathed.

"My...goodness..." Davey rasped.

"I know this sounds crazy," Xoshi said, "but we need you..." The two new wand-wielders were speechless. They looked into Xoshi's pleading eyes. They saw White Rose and Leif nodding to them. Then they saw each other's unsure facial expressions.

"Well..." Davey said. "We'll think about it. Right now, though, we kind of have to find a doll."

"You do?" Xoshi asked.

"Yeah, so if you'll excuse us-"

"-You mean like this one?" Chogun and Davey couldn't believe their eyes. The next thing this Yoshi had in the palm of his hand was exactly what they needed: a doll, and it was a rather exotic-looking one at that. Chogun seemed to think so.

"D... Dog..."

"This is perfect!!" Davey exclaimed. "Would you mind if we borrowed it?? Please?"

Xoshi smiled. "Sure, go ahead."

"Yes! Thank you." Davey took the Belome doll. Soon, he had the thing locked in his right arm and he was facing the opposite direction. "Alright," he said, "back to Chirinu!!..."

Business was slow back at Chirinu's stand. The last thing he could hear was footsteps reproaching him. Even without eyesight, he could tell he was alone again. "Another great day," he grumbled. However, that was when he heard it: footsteps coming towards him. The dog man perked up. "Wow, fourth time today," he chirped. "My lucky star must be shining today..."

Xoshi, Chogun, Davey, White Rose, and Leif approached Chirinu. The man was up and ready for business. "Got another doll for me?" he inquired.

"As a matter of fact, we do," Davey replied. He took out the Belome doll and handed it to the furry man. Chirinu took it without hesitating. Somehow, just by holding it in his hands, he could tell there was something special about this doll. Davey could see this and he smirked. White Rose and Leif seemed to be just as smug in their own ways. Chogun, on the other hand was just sweating, and Xoshi was just confused.

"What's going on?" Xoshi asked, leaning towards Leif.

"Long story," the Viking replied.

Like he did with the other one, Chirinu bobbed the doll up and down, turned it left and right, and shook it. Once he was ready, his tongue was out again and his five customers were watching him intently. His slobbery appendige landed on the side of the doll. This time, making it slide upward was a much slower process than usual. Seeing him drag this on as though he were savoring a stack of ice cream made even Davey, White Rose, and Leif start to sweat. As he did before, once this was over, Chirinu started smacking his lips. Even this had to be a long process. Finally, the dog stopped. He paused for one second. Then he grinned. "Perfect." White Rose and Leif's faces lit up, although Chogun and Davey were evidently even more excited. "This is just the doll I've been looking for," Chirinu announced. "A doll with a nice, distinct flavor. Why, I've never had anything like it in my life."

"So... Does that mean..." Davey said.

Chirinu nodded. "That's right." He placed the Belome doll so it was sitting right on top of his head. "I'm going to return you to normal now!" Chogun and Davey pumped their arms in victory. "You three, though," the dog said to Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif, "just stand back." The three guys nodded and took a few steps away from Chogun and Davey. "Alright then." Chirinu held his hands up dramatically. "Here we go!!"

The lights display began. Before long, the six people found that they were surrounded by little specks of golden glitter. The little things were swirling around them like a tornado. Gradually, they got bigger and more plentiful, revealing themselves to be golden stars and moons, just like the ones on Chirinu's headband. The more this process continued on, the less Chirinu's five customers could see what was behind this maelstrom of magic. Then, by making a flicking movement with his wrists, Chirinu was able to make the golden stars and moons fly high up into the sky like a laser beam. His five visitors shot their heads up to watch. For a second, there was nothing. Then they could see something green flying around up there. Did the magic change color?...

ZING!! The golden things shot downward just as dramatically as they did before. They did so in two beams. At this point, Chirinu had two masses of stars and moons swirling around his upraised hands. He turned his two hands into claw shapes and aimed them at Chogun and Davey, both of which were so eager, they were practically moments away from beginning to drool. The golden shapes surrounding Chirinu's hands were getting brighter and brighter. It wouldn't be long until this spell was complete. Then...

BBLLLOORRRPP! A gigantic worm of green ooze came crashing down from the sky. Chirinu couldn't see it, but it was in plain view of Xoshi, Chogun, Davey, White Rose, and Leif. All five of them were utterly shocked. It looked as though the ooze had just dove right into the doll on top of Chirinu's head like a ghost going through a wall. Once all the slime was packed into the doll, it started glowing white just like Chirinu's stars and moons were. Was this part of the spell?

What happened next practically answered their question. The mass of white light sitting atop Chirinu's head began to grow bigger. This caused the magic swirling around the dog's hands to dissipate. He was wondering why it had suddenly become so difficult to sit up straight.

"What the heck?" Xoshi uttered. He was just as confused as anyone else. Then they were horrified. Nothing could have prepared them for what happened next.

"UGH-"

-KKRRNNCHH!! The mass of white light became too big. In a mess of red, it had commenced standing atop a pile of guts. Chirinu was dead. Once the light faded, everyone could make out an oversized, strange-looking, dog-like creature with four eyes, red marks all over its body, and a long, floppy tongue hanging out of its mouth. What Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif saw was a monster. Chogun saw a dog. Davey saw something that was sitting on top of a bloody blindfold. While Chogun was shaking with terror, Davey was shaking with rage.

"Magikoopas, moles, storks, Bandits..." the creature mumbled. "Wow! What have I been doing these past few days?!"

Davey's quaking knuckles were beginning to turn white. He was glaring at the creature with pure hatred. "You stupid, big, fat, idiotic MONSTER!!" he yelled. "Have you any idea what you've just DONE?!"

"Now, now, little boy, you mustn't speak to your elders that way!" the creature said. This, of course, just turned Davey's face even more red. "By the way... I'm Belome! And I'm...hungry..."

"Be... Belome??" Xoshi stammered.

"Sir Xoshi, you know this fiend?" White Rose asked.

"Well, sort of..."

"You bastard," Davey snarled. Swiftly, he grabbed his gun and jammed it into the new Belome's face. "I'LL KILL YOU!!"

WHAP!! With one strong, bear-like arm, Belome was able to swat the laser pistol out of the boy's hands, injuring his wrists at the same time. The gun went flying into the woods. Davey was horrified. "Naughty, naughty," Belome chided. "Didn't mama ever tell you not to point guns at the dinner table?" Davey just growled at the monster. Belome paid it little mind. He appared to be more interested in how there was a Yoshi entering a fighting stance, a white knight drawing his sword, and a Viking drawing his mace. "Hmm..." the monster said, looking at each of them. "Eenie, meenie, minie..." He looked at the trembling, beyond terrified Chogun. "YOU!!"

Chogun gasped. He sounded like he just died. The monster took a step towards him. This enraged Davey even further. "DON'T YOU DARE-"

-SLLURRPP!! Too late. Just like that, Belome had wrapped Chogun up with his tremendous tongue and swallowed him in one gulp. Everyone stared at him as he rubbed his stomach in satisfaction. "Mmm! Bug-tastic!"

WHAM!! Davey tackled the beast, pinned him to the ground, and commenced beating his face in with his fists. "You stupid, ugly, no good, freaking, tub of-" -WHAP! Belome swatted the boy off of him with one good punch. Soon enough, he was back on his feet, brushing himself off.

"So, it's a fight you want, eh?" Belome remarked. "Well then, bring it on! I've always enjoyed a little roughhousing before dinner!"

Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif had all entered some imposing fighting stances. "Sir Davey," White Rose said, "let us assist you in this-"

"-NO!!" Davey yelled. He was getting off the ground, still as infuriated as ever. "He's mine..."

The three of Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif stared at what was going on right before them. There was a little boy to their right and a dog-like monster to their left. Both of them were looking as eager as all get-out for this. The trio put their weapons away and took a step back. All they could do was watch the fight unfold before them...

Davey and Belome stared each other down for a few seconds. Then they were off. They ran towards each other with their fists clenched. Once they were close enough, Davey tried throwing a punch at Belome's face, but once he saw the dog lash its tongue out, he panicked and jumped away. Belome started chasing down the boy with his tongue flopping around, sending blobs of saliva flying. One of them landed right in front of him. Unfortunately, he didn't see this. SLIP! The boy landed on his back, right on top of the watery muck. Just when he was starting to feel it seep into his clothes, the dog-like monster slammed his foot right onto his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Well, little boy, it's been fun," the monster taunted, "but now it's time to take a time-out...in my tummy!"

Davey glared at the beast and his salivating tongue. He had nothing but anger for this creature. _Damn it,_ he thought. _If only I had my gun!..._

"Shouldn't we help him?!" Xoshi asked.

"Be patient, Sir Xoshi," White Rose replied. "This is his battle; we can't interfere."

Xoshi swallowed hard. _Come on, Davey,_ he thought. _Don't die!..._

Belome's moist teeth were drawing closer to Davey's head. He had to come up with something in the next two seconds. Wincing, he thought, _You sick freak..._ The young boy whipped out his wand and pointed it at the monster's throat. _I'm not..._ He called forth the energy he felt before and concentrated with all his might. _...Gonna die here!!_ BAM!! Belome went flying off of Davey's body. Smoke was coming out of his mouth and he was coughing up a storm. Davey was holding his body up with one hand on the damp ground. He was watching all this in disbelief. He looked at his wand wondering about what it had just done.

"Wha-What... WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!" Belome spazzed.

Davey grinned at the beast. "You like that?" The boy got up off the ground. "Then HERE'S SOME MORE FOR YOU!!" Davey aimed the wand at the staggering Belome and started firing. Instead of bullets or lasers, though, he was firing spheres of black energy surrounded with purple lightning bolts. Each one kept detonating upon landing on Belome. More and more scorch marks were showing up on his yellow body. Finally, Davey fired a particulary big one at this guy. It enveloped his whole body, making for one serious injury. At last, the monster stopped running around and he collapsed on his back.

Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif had been awestricken by this display of power, but it wasn't over yet. The young boy stomped his way over to the downed beast and slammed one foot onto his chest, causing the enemy to cough some more.

"I don't know who or what the heck you are," the boy growled, "but if you ruin my life or eat my friend, I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!!" Davey swung his wand at the man's face once more. Belome went wide-eyed before the storm came. BDDZZZTTT!!! A tidal wave of dark energy tore through the monster's face. Davey let it pile up just for good measure. He wanted little more than for this freak to suffer as much pain as possible. Once the spell died down, he pulled his wand away to reveal a perfectly still face with all four of its eyes closed. The boy scoffed and took his foot off of the monster's chest. He turned around and began to walk away. Victory was his as was a new power...

THREE DOWN  
FOUR TO GO

"YEAH!! DAVEY!! YOU DID IT!!" Xoshi cheered. Both White Rose and Leif were applauding. Davey just looked at them and modestly scratched the back of his head. This little moment of celebration continued on until the quartet started hearing some coughing. Everyone stopped and looked. Belome was getting back onto his feet in spite of having been turned into a big, charred mass of black. Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif were dumbfounded. Davey was just horrified.

"Idiots," the monster wheezed. "Do you really think you can kill me?! I'm not a monster... I'm a stuffed doll!!"

The three patrons of this scene were filled with shock. Davey just started to make his fists tremble again. However, Belome wasn't done speaking.

"If you want me, come and get me! I'll be waiting...at Belome Rock..." With that, the dog-like creature threw his arms up, much like how Chirinu had. Davey was about to run towards this fiend once more when his eyes suddenly caught a hint of blue. He stopped and looked up just as Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif had.

"What the..." Davey mused.

"AURORA FLASH!!"

Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif had become trapped within a collection of pillars of a blinding blue light. Before they knew what hit them, they were down. The quartet opposing Belome had suddenly lost all consciousness and collapsed on the grass.

"Hee hee hee... See you kiddies later!" Having finally gotten his business out of the way, the treacherous Belome turned and ran. Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif had come all this way to Carnival Alley. It was full of all kinds of trials and tribulations, but this was one they just couldn't survive. The four of them had been reduced to four unconscious people lying on the ground. It was only a matter of time until they woke up...

* * *

Everything was going good on Lava Lava Island. The sun was in the middle of the sky, signifying another peaceful afternoon for the citizens of Yoshi Village. Everyone was enjoying themselves. There wasn't a sign of conflict anywhere.

Some Yoshies were playing, others were working. Some of them, like the chubby red Yoshi chieftain and his periwinkle partner were just going for a walk. At the moment, those two were waltzing down a path sandwiched between two collections of big, green trees and other jungle-oriented plants. The periwinkle one was talking.

"...So we decided to give it to him."

"Hm. I see," the chief replied.

"Speaking of which," the periwinkle Yoshi pondered, "I wonder what that Fyooshi is doing right now..."

BAM! WHAP! SLAM!! Two of Lava Lava Island's resident Yoshies, a black one and a white one, were going at it with each other. The looks on their faces were stern, but not angry. This was noticed by four other Yoshies: a maroon one, a goldenrod one, a cerulean one, and a lime one. They were just sitting back and watching, almost as though they were in a class. Eventually, three other Yoshies started walking towards this scene. They consisted of a green one, a magenta one, and a dark orange one. The dark orange one was explaining something to the green one.

"...And this is Ebony and Ivory," Glishy said, gesturing towards the black Yoshi and the White Yoshi respectively. "Ren may have once had them under his control, but they're still the strongest Yoshies here. They also like to travel."

Yoshi nodded. While the lecture between him and Glishy was carrying on, the Yoshi chieftain and his partner were approaching Fyooshi from behind. "How goes it, Fyooshi?" the red one said.

Fyooshi jumped. He turned around and noticed it wasn't anyone or anything dangerous. "Me?! Uh, I'm okay," he said.

The chieftain laughed. "Fyooshi, you're so easily scared. How do you sleep at night?"

"Um, I count raspberries," Fyooshi answered.

The chieftain laughed again. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. Uh, raspberries are my favorite..."

Two Yoshies were sparring with each other, four were sitting and watching, two were standing and watching, and three were just talking to each other. Everyone was just having such a good time. This could all be seen by a pair of eyes secretly spying on the place from behind a few bushes. It seemed to be waiting for something...

Ebony and Ivory charged each other once more. At one point, Ebony threw a punch and Ivory threw one of his legs out. The result was disastrous. BAM!! Ivory got punched in the side of his head and Ebony fell to the ground after being tripped. The two Yoshies rubbed their sore spots, reassumed fighting stances, and continued with the sparring. Their six onlookers couldn't help but be deeply impressed by their skill, especially the two standing ones.

"They're actually going pretty easy on each other now," Fyooshi elaborated. "In real fights, Ivory specializes in firing green eggs at his enemies while Ebony uses red eggs. They say Ivory's the master of bank shots, but they also say that Ebony's attacks are like a machine gun. Well, whatever the case, should anything happen to us, we'll know that we can count on these two guys to protect us."

Yoshi nodded. Meanwhile, the red Yoshi chieftain was still talking to Fyooshi. "But, honestly, Fyooshi, you don't have anything to be afraid of," he said. "Like Perry and I were just talking about a little while ago, ever since we got rid of Ren, everything's been A-OK."

"Hm. Yeah," Fyooshi agreed. "Yeah, chief... I guess you're-"

-TSSEEWWW!! Suddenly Fyooshi found out he was all covered in a red liquid substance. He found out what it was once some of it seeped into his mouth. It tasted like metal. Then Fyooshi snapped out of it. He looked forward and noticed there was a big bloody hole in the chief's neck. His eyes had rolled up into his head. Everyone in the village had suddenly stopped to look at what had happened to their leader. The chief's limp body fell forward. Fyooshi yelped and jumped back. WHUMP! The body hit the ground. It wasn't moving. However, what REALLY got people to flip out was the sight of what had caused this to happen: the giant Melon Bug lumbering its way out of the bushes.

"M... Melon Bug??" Yoshi uttered.

Glishy looked at him inquisitively. "You know this thing?" Yoshi nodded.

TSSEWW!! It had started. The Melon Bug was beginning to fire more yellow lasers out of its gloved antennae. People were starting to run away from it, screaming. Yoshi Village was under attack.

TSEW! TSEW! TSEW!! The Melon Bug was making a lot of scorch marks in the ground, but its prey kept jumping out of the way and running. This frustrated the beast, so it curled itself into a giant, striped bowling ball and started charging. The round monster kept grinding a miniature trench of some sort into the ground as it sped forward. People kept screaming and jumping out of the way as though it were a car being driven by a mad man. It nearly hit a red one, a purple one, a green one, and an orange one. Fortunately, all of them were able to dive away in time. However, a rather small purple Yo'ster was going to have to jump away next, and the child wasn't doing so. The elder purple Yoshi saw this and shrieked. The child had a few seconds...

WHAM!! The giant Melon Bug was knocked back. It flipped through the air, uncurled itself, and landed on its stomach. Once it shook its head and looked up, it could see what everyone was staring at: the black Yoshi and the white Yoshi, Ebony and Ivory, with their fists up, staring at the ornery creature with grim faces. The beast glared back. It hopped back onto its feet and started running towards them. The two Yoshies were running toward it as well.

It didn't take long for the two parties to crash into one another. Quickly enough, Ebony and Ivory had commenced leaping onto the oversized monster and beating it mercilessly with their kicks and punches. In retaliation, the beast merely tried to shake them off. After a few seconds of this, it finally got just got mad. TSEW! TSEW!! The two Yoshies were knocked out of the way with two of the Melon Bug's lasers. They went sprawling. Scorch marks were on their chests. In spite of this, they weren't going to give up so quickly. The next thing Ivory did, he made a strange hand gesture or two to Ebony. The black Yoshi understood quickly and ran off. This time, it was just between Ivory and the Melon Bug. All the Yoshies of the village were either watching this fight in great anxiety or trying to get as far away from it as possible. It didn't matter to Ivory. He just glared at the monster once more and charged...

From a distance, Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy couldn't pry themselves away from the fight. They all kept watching it as though their lives depended on it. Of the three, Yoshi seemed to be especially into it. For some reason, he felt there was more to this fight than just something horrible that suddenly happened, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. While focusing his attention on the fight, he could hear sobbing behind him. He looked over his shoulder and noticed it was coming from the perinkle Yoshi, Perry. The poor man was kneeling on the ground with the chief's head in his lap. His face was drenched in tears and his lips wouldn't stop quivering.

"Why?!" he choked. "Why did this have to happen?! WHY?!"

Yoshi was disheartened at the sight. He suddenly started scowling and looking forward again. _What in the world is going on?!_ he thought. _I've never seen a Melon Bug like this before. Where did it come from? What does it want??..._

BANG!! Ivory tripped the giant Melon Bug. The behemoth flipped onto its back. The white Yoshi started pummeling its side with a vicious combination of non-stop kicking and punching. He topped off the attack by jumping back, skidding to a halt, and whistling with his thumb and index finger. The loud noise made Ebony suddenly leap out of nowhere. For a second, he looked as though he was flying, but it was merely a long jump. The black Yoshi stared the Melon Bug down and let it have it. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!! The black Yoshi unleashed a barrage of red-spotted eggs upon the monster's gut.

Yoshi watched this in astonishment. Like Glishy said, it was just like a machine gun. Interestingly enough, he couldn't take his eyes off of the next few moments of this fight either. He continued to watch carefully...

Once the assault ended, Ebony landed on the ground and saluted Ivory. Ivory nodded and fired an egg of his own. Out of the corner of its eye, the Melon Bug could barely see this green-spotted thing heading towards it. Thinking quickly it sprang back onto its feet, just in time to hardly even be grazed by the passing projectile. The thing zipped right past it, allowing it to move on with its next attack. The Melon Bug stared forcefully at its two opponents and started firing more of its yellow lasers. However, this time, it was seldom even aiming at either of them; each one was practically just one random firing after another. Regardless of this, Ebony and Ivory still found themselves dancing in order to avoid these blasts. Once they got sick of this, they got on opposite sides of the giant monster, nodded to each other, and let loose their next attack. WHAM!! The monster stopped firing. Both of its sides had just had two fists slammed into them. The impact shot the rotund creature into the air.

Then SPLAT!! The monster went spinning. Its temple had been nailed by a red egg. Yoshi noticed it was a green egg a few seconds ago. He was amazed. That white Yoshi was indeed the master of bank shots. He could tell this match was going to be decided soon enough...

The monster was spiraling its way towards the ground. Ebony and Ivory were ready to smash its skull in with a few more kicks. They started running and WHAM!! The monster landed between them. Unexpectedly, though, it did so on its feet. Once again, the monster was in the air. It had jumped. Ebony and Ivory craned their heads upward, being careful not to take their eyes off it. Much to their surprise, two very tall trees were about to fall on this thing.

Yoshi noticed this was a result of its random firings. He figured it had ironically done this to itself.

Ebony and Ivory seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Everyone watched and waited in anticipation. The falling trees were a split-second away from knocking this fiend out. Then came the moment of truth. CRACK!! Everyone was shocked. Ebony and Ivory were even more so. At the last minute, the Melon Bug had chopped these trees in half with a spinning kick! What was even worse was that two of these were headed for Ebony and Ivory. The two Yoshies panicked. They tried getting out of the way of these two huge, wooden projectiles, but it was no use. KONK!! Both Yoshies dropped to the ground. The trees had bounced off their heads and knocked them both out cold. Klunk! Klunk! Klunk! The trees, along the Melon Bug that had torn them up, landed on the ground as well. This battle had been decided. The Melon Bug stood tall once again. It turned its head towards the horrified crowd of Yoshies and glared.

For the second time, they all started running and screaming. Despair had taken over the village, and Yoshi had seen enough...

Just when the monster was about to curl itself into a giant bowling ball once again, SPLAT!! Something hard and heavy splattered against its temple once again. It angrily turned and looked. This time, Yoshi was its opponent. The green Yo'ster fiercely stared the behemoth down and beckoned it with one hand. The Melon Bug's rage had been renewed. It started charging towards its new enemy, not willing to hold back in the least...

Along with what few other Yoshies decided to stick around, Fyooshi couldn't help but watch this new battle unfold with an overwhelming amount of anxiousness. Everything was going great until this new enemy appeared. The chief was dead. Perry was crying for him. Everyone was either running and screaming or watching in dread. Their two best fighters had taken on this creature with the utmost of bravery. Now their latest resident, a green Yoshi who was still learning how to speak their language, was challenging it. How was his tutor taking this?

That was when the magenta Yoshi noticed it: Glishy wasn't beside him anymore either. Suddenly beginning to be overcome with fear, the cowardly dinosaur started looking around. He then noticed the dark orange Yoshi was exactly where he least suspected: right beside Yoshi, kicking this monster's butt. Fyooshi's eyes widened. He couldn't stop thinking about how the last thing the Yoshi chief said to him was about how cowardly he was. He never realized how right he was until this moment. The hurricane of whirling thoughts wouldn't stop packing itself into his skull. What was he to do? Noshi, Naji, Raphael... Ebony and Ivory... Even Yoshi and Glishy... He was nothing compared to them. This dark realization was starting to eat away at Fyooshi's heart like a parasite. He was so useless. What was he to do?...

Both Yoshi and Glishy were trying their hardest. Their hands and feet weren't willing to go easy against this fiend. Every kick and every punch made the monster scoot back and wince more and more in pain. However, its level of frustration was also getting dangerously high. While being in the middle of another merciless onslaught of attacks, the monster pried its furious eyes open, looked at its two foes murderously, and made its retalation. TSSEWW!! Yoshi and Glishy had been scorched. The two Yoshies flew back in agony. They skidded across the ground and stopped. Both of them were gnashing their teeth. The crowd of anxious Yoshies was holding its breath. Once the giant Melon Bug started taking a few steps towards these two brave Yo'sters, it finally dawned on Fyooshi what to do...

_Everyone,_ he thought while clenching his fists, _I'm not gonna be useless anymore..._

The magenta Yoshi angrily took a step forward. He took a deep breath and let it explode out. "HEY!! Y-YOU BIG FREAK!!!"

It worked. The monster seized its advancement, turned around, and glared at this new offender. Fyooshi gulped at the sight, but he refused to stop his actions.

"Y... YEAH, I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!! COME AND GET ME!!!"

To the good Yoshies of the Yoshi Village, this was quite the turn of events. For once, their easily scared little Fyooshi was putting on an act of courage. It was touching to see what he was willing to do for everyone...but could they really count on him?

They were about to find out. The Melon Bug blew steam out of its nostrils like a bison. It curled itself into a giant bowling ball once more and started charging. Unfortunately, Fyooshi wasn't sure if this was part of the plan or not. Then again, he wasn't sure if he even had a plan to begin with. In spite of this, he just went by his instincts. The terrified Yo'ster began to run...

Yoshi and Glishy were back on their feet. They were rubbing at their sore spots and watching where the Melon Bug had started chasing Fyooshi. The two of them were getting further and further away from the village. "You know, I always knew this day would come," Glishy said to Yoshi. "That scaredy-cat Yoshi is finally taking a stand. It was kind of a scary thought actually..." Again, in response, Yoshi just nodded. He and Glishy were ready now. "Well, come on. Right now, he's in more trouble than anyone..." Yoshi nodded. With that, the two Yoshies sped off, leaving the rest of the Yoshies to run up to the downed Ebony, Ivory, and Perry, as well as their red chieftain, and start tending to their needs. The damage of this day was not going to be easy to fix...

Both Fyooshi and the Melon Bug chasing after him had gotten themselves deep inside the jungle. They had gotten pretty far from the village. All the while, Fyooshi could only think about one other time when he was in this situation: the time when a bunch of frogs from outer space were on his tail. His brow was sweaty, his breath was fast, and his legs were pumping like mad. It was the same thing all over again.

Fyooshi took another quick breath and gulped back his parched throat. _But, this time, I'm not gonna let anyone save me,_ he thought. _I'm gonna do this on my own!_ The magenta Yoshi looked ahead of him and took in what he saw. Beyond the next few masses of shrubbery, there was a crevice. In it was the river of lava coming out of Mt. Lava Lava. Fyooshi looked behind him. The tremendous Melon Bug was still charging at him like a stray cannon ball. He looked forward, saw the lava again, and decided it was time to finish this...

The Melon Bug wasn't showing any signs of stopping. It was going to kill that Yoshi no matter what the cost. With all this murderous intent flowing through its veins, it kept charging and charging. The reptile was only a few meters away from it. It could tell. It wouldn't be long until that scaled freak was roadkill...

Then he mysteriously disappeared. The creature was confused. It immediately stopped rolling, uncurled itself, and started looking around. Where did he go? Above it? Behind it? The Melon Bug soon found out it was a little of both.

Once the Melon Bug turned around, in one split-second it could see Fyooshi had leapt into the air, grabbed a tree branch hanging above, and swung himself around it like a gymnast. His feet were sticking out like a double barrel shotgun and they were aimed at the monster's chest. Wide-eyed, the beast could tell there was no time to counter. WHAM!! The monster's chest caved in. It went flying backwards. Its enemy had landed on the ground and run up to the edge of the crevice. Fyooshi watched as the humungous, green monstrosity tumbled further and further down. SHHLORRP!! The lava caught its fall. It was gradually sinking into and becoming more burnt and brittle, like paper lighting on fire. Finally, the monster crumbled into ash and was swept away by the current of the liquid rock. The Melon Bug had been defeated.

Fyooshi continued to stare at where the behemoth had disappeared, as though the lava beneath it had just turned blue a second ago. His gaze was unblinking. If what he had just seen was not just his imagination...

Fyooshi took his line of vision away from the crevice. This time, his eyes weren't staring at anything. His mouth muscles were beginning to twitch. They were slowly forming a smile. Finally, it was a huge grin. "YES!!" Fyooshi jumped into the air with one arm punching the sky. "I did it!! I did it!! I killed the monster!! I did it!!" The excited Yoshi started victory dancing. "I can't keep this to myself. I have to tell everyone!!" Having stated that, the ecstatic Yo'ster turned around and started running full tilt back to the village...

Meanwhile, Yoshi and Glishy were still struggling to push and shove their ways through this wild forest. Somehow, they had managed to lose track of their friend as well as their enemy. "Ugh," Glishy grunted. "Now where could they have gotten to?" It didn't take long for his question to be answered. That was when the two Yoshies could hear someone running through the woods yelling something about having killed something. Looking for the source of this voice, Glishy found it was a magenta-colored blur moving through the vegetation at a quick rate. "Oh man," Glishy uttered. He gestured to his green companion. "Come on." Yoshi nodded. The two lost Yo'sters changed their route and started heading back...

"...EEEVVEEERRYYOOONNE!!!" Heads everywhere turned as Fyooshi came running into the scene, screaming his head off. His heels slid against the ground as he stopped with his arms spread. "Everyone!! I did it! I killed the monster!! We're all safe now!"

Dead silence.

All of the Yoshies of Yoshi Village had immediately stopped everything they were doing. That included blinking and even breathing. All eyes were on Fyooshi. The triumphant Yo'ster took note of this. It made him nervous. His eyes darted left and right as he lowered his arms. This was confusing...

What happened next took the magenta Yo'ster completely by surprise. One Yoshi yelled out. "ALL HAIL OUR NEW LEADER!!"

Then all the others yelled. "HAAAIIILLL!!" The Yoshies all rushed up to him. They were all yelling and screaming like they were before, only it was out of pure happiness and excitement rather than fear. The next thing Fyooshi knew, there was a necklace of pansies around his neck and he was being carried around by two Yoshies, Ebony and Ivory, using their arms as a makeshift throne for their savior. Everyone was chanting, "LEADER! LEADER! LEADER! LEADER!" Now he was REALLY confused...

He wasn't the only one. Yoshi and Glishy were very close to the village now. Hearing all this partying suddenly going on got them both to start to seriously wonder what in blazes was going on. The two exchanged perplexed looks and they headed on in. Their eyes became extremely huge upon realizing it was a celebration over Fyooshi. Once he saw them enter, he was slightly relieved. His two friends ran up to him, dying for some answers.

"Fyooshi!! What's going on? What happened?" Glishy yelled, trying to be heard amidst all the chanting. A maroon Yoshi practically danced up to him.

"Didn't you hear?! Fyooshi killed the monster! He's our leader now!!" the maroon Yoshi explained.

"Really!?" Glishy blurted. "So that's it..."

"Glishy!!" Fyooshi called out, while jumping from his makeshift throne. He ran up to his two friends with a great amount of befuddlement. "What's going on? Tell me!!"

"Have you forgotten??" Glishy said. "Whoever kills the leader becomes the new leader. And since you killed whoever it was that killed the OLD leader..."

Fyooshi gulped. He pointed to himself. "So...that makes me...the new leader??"

Glishy nodded. "You got it."

Fyooshi placed a hand against his head. It was starting to sweat like crazy. The sound of everyone's chanting was starting to feel like a pounding in his head. "Well, gee, I dunno," Fyooshi stammered. "Me? The leader? A-Am I really qualified for it? And... And what about the old one?"

"We'll take care of it later," the dark orange Yoshi said. "Right now, everyone seems to feel like celebrating. So let's let'em...okay?" Fyooshi smirked at his friend and gave him a light punch in the arm. Fyooshi hesitated. Then he smiled back and nodded. Soon, the two Yoshies were joining the rest of their kind in the dance. It made their green friend feel even more like an outcast here. He had bigger things on his mind, however...

_I don't get it,_ he thought. _Where did that Melon Bug come from? What did it want?_ The Yoshi started looking at the ground with a grave look on his face. _Somehow, I don't get the feeling this is over..._

"YOSHI!" The green dinosaur jolted his head up. Glishy was beckoning him with his hand. "Come on! Join the party!!" Yoshi nodded. Indeed, now was not the time to be worrying. The green reptile ran up to all the other Yoshies and started dancing alongside them...

* * *

It was the same thing all over again. Titotal Gonnic, Wart, and Katana were right next to Kreezo. They were at the beginning of a racetrack of some sort. This could all be seen by two huge stands loaded to the brim with Melon Bugs galore, all of them cheering wildly. Once again, they were going to get to see the speed of Tondariya outdo a few foreigners, only, this time, there were three of them instead of four, and the three of them had new bikes.

The man in red and his two Melon Bug cronies were with them. He was giving them a few words to send them off with. "Now, you do remember the rules, don't you?" he asked.

The alien captain snorted. "If we win...we win..." The big purple man still had lopsided eyes. This didn't make Wart and Katana any more confident.

The man in red didn't seem to care. "Alright then," he said. "Shall we begin?"

Wart and Katana were looking pretty grim. The thoughts running through their heads were very similar to one another.

_Can we really trust the captain in this state?_

_WILL THESE MOTORCYCLES TRULY ENSURE OUR VICTORY?_

The captain, on the other hand, was in much higher spirits. _We'll be out of here in no time,_ he thought with a sloppy grin on his face.

While these three aliens were busy mentally preparing themselves for the trial ahead, a disembodied voice was starting to boom its away across the sky in Tondariya's wrath. "Ladies and Melon Bugs," it said, causing the audience to quiet down some as it did before, "we have, once again, a very special group of people willing to take on Kreezo and the might of Tondariya..." For the second time ever, each of the captain and his top two minions got to have their names called out one by one with unpleasant results. "Wart..." Everyone in the bleachers started booing the frog. This just made him frown a bit. "Katana..." Like his superior did, the silver man got booed. He just rolled his eyes. "And Titotal Gonnic..." The purple man got booed. Unlike the other two, though, he didn't seem to have heard anything. He still had that drunken, confident smile. "Yes, ladies and Melon Bugs, it's just Wart, Katana, and Titotal Gonnic today. It seems this time they'll be trying to win this race without the aid of Cutlass who, as we all remember, was the only one who stood a chance against Kreezo. Regardless, let us bare witness to Kreezo proving once and for all that no one can beat Tondariya..." As they did before, at the sound of these words, the entire audience started cheering like mad once again. It irritated Wart and Katana. Could they really do this? They were about to find out...

The crowd cheered on. The four contestants continued to wait impatiently. Then came the red man's two Melon Bugs. Repeating their earlier actions, they strut up a ways in front of the four bikers. They all stared at these two creatures with a great amount of seriousness. Once the timing was right, they curled up into balls, and rocketed themselves into the air like a pair of bullets. No sooner than that did the quartet of racers vanish. In the blink of an eye, they were off. The final race had begun...

It had barely even been a few seconds, and, already, Kreezo was overcome with astonishment and confusion. The last time he did this, he wasn't trying very hard, yet he was still able to win. Surely, this time, it wasn't going to be any different. In spite of this, it was. It seemed as though, without even putting any effort into it whatsoever, his three opponents had instantly passed him. They were even making all the turns as though they were nothing. How could they have gotten so good so fast? It just wasn't possible. _No matter,_ Kreezo thought, _I am Tondariya's speed. It takes a lot more than this to take me down..._

As the alien captain sped down this brass road, he was smiling defiantly. It was as though he couldn't even feel the wind whipping at his face. His two minions, of course, were right behind him. Both of them had eyes that were all bugged out. Things definitely were going smoothly.

Once the three aliens looked ahead, they could tell that, once again, they were going to have to jump the pit of spikes. The captain, of course, was more confident about making this jump than the other two space aliens were. He was about to hit the gas and go flying off of that ramp when VVRROOOOMMM!!! Kreezo dashed right past the opposing trio. He drove up the ramp and went soaring. The golden man looked behind him, feeling smug. Unfortunately for him, he may have been the first to survive the pit of spikes, but that didn't change the fact he was falling behind. Over his head, he heard the sound of motorcycle engines roaring. Three of them, to be precise. Kreezo looked up and made his eyes follow his three opponents. They had made the jump at a much faster speed than him! How could this happen?

_SO THIS IS AUTO-PILOT,_ Wart thought. He was greatly relieved, but still nervous. He raised one of his golden, sleeved arms and used it to wipe his brow. _TRULY AN AMAZING DEVICE..._ The giant frog held on tight and continued to follow his two fellow aliens...

Kreezo cursed beneath his breath. He started accelerating again. He wasn't going to let a few impossible occurrences get in the way of his victory.

After a few more twists and turns in the road, the next big challenge came: the spiral. Once Katana saw this nightmare of turning ahead of him, he gulped. _Well,_ he thought, _here goes nothing..._

The descent began. Just like last time, four motorcyclists were doing their best to cling to the side of this twisting road from another dimension. The other three were basically just hanging on tight, but Katana felt like he had more than just his bike to hang onto. The unlucky alien's face started turning green. The constant spinning and the never-ending image of stripes of brass and black flying over his face wasn't exactly making this any easier for him. He hoped and prayed it'd all be over soon...

Kreezo had his confidence restored. Not even that last trial could prove his skill had rusted. Much to his dismay, however, the cockiness he had just gained was instantly shattered. He was sandwiched between three other motorcyclists other than himself. This angered the golden man. He was in the process of wondering how in the world these guys were capable of defying the impossible so much when he suddenly noticed the silver man to his left taking up a great interest in the ground. The metallic alien's hands were still gripped firmly on the handlebars, but his head was leaning over to his right. Katana was shocked and disgusted by what happened next...

The golden, bejeweled Kreezo's bike went spinning out of control. In desperation, he slammed it to a halt suddenly. Looking ahead, he could see that, all over the road, was a puddle of something lumpy and yellow-ish. Kreezo cursed again. First they were doing the impossible. Now they were doing the ridiculously simple. The speed of Tondariya had snapped. _That does it,_ he thought, getting his bike to start zooming across the brass road again. _No more Mr. Nice Guy..._

Up ahead, Katana was busy lagging a bit behind his two teammates, both of whom were looking more confident than him. The silver alien wiped some gunk from his mouth with his sleeve. _I wouldn't exactly call this my idea of a good time,_ the Extra-Terrestrial thought, _but we just might win this..._ Auto-pilot had saved another life...

Next, what the racetrack had in store for the four bikers was the forest of the tall, tree-like brass instruments. Like the last two major parts of this crazy place, this may have spelled more trouble for the three space aliens, but auto-pilot was there for all three of them. They hardly felt as though there was anything to fear. Soon after they entered this unwholesome forest, it started attacking them. Curled-up Melon Bugs were firing themselves out of the sockets of the instruments like bullets headed for the aliens. Luckily, they were going too fast for those things. They were practically invincible. Not even when there was mist fogging up the forest to accompany the cannonball-like Melon Bugs was it enough to take the aliens down. They just kept plowing on through at super speed.

Once they emerged from the white cloud of the forest, the captain's face twisted into a devilish smirk. _It's official now,_ he thought. _This match is ours..._

The next few seconds were truly strange for the three aliens. This was when they finally got to find out how reckless it could be to be in auto-pilot. The motorcycles started automatically jumping through the air in an effort to avoid tripping over wires coming out of the tree-like instruments of the forest. All they could do was hang on tight and hope for the best. However, the next obstacle probably would have required more from them than just that. The bikes took a tremendous leap through the air and started rotating in mid-air. The aliens felt as though they were on a roller coaster. In what had been the bikes' most insane auto-pilot act yet, they had managed to get the aliens to tumble through a web of wires like acrobats through a ring of fire. In the next instant, they were going to land...

BANG!!! Something extremely blunt had rammed into the back of Wart's bike. The impact sent him hurtling towards Katana which got him to hurtle towards the captain. Since he had flipped the bike in such a way so that its tires had been the culprit in this mess, Kreezo could barely see the fruits of his labors, but he could tell those three idiotic space aliens were spiraling out of control. Nimbly, he landed the bike right back onto the brass road where it belonged and continued to race. Much to his horror, in spite of the severe "accident" that had happened earlier, the aliens were still able to land right back onto the road as well, almost as though nothing had even happened. Once again, the golden man was behind. He seethed with anger. He knew something was up now.

_I hope they hang for this..._

The four motorcycles were miles ahead of the forest of brass. Now they were about to enter the most difficult part of the racetrack. The brass road was gradually fading away into a huge mass of blinding white light. The three aliens couldn't stand getting near it. Wart started covering his eyes up with one arm and Katana started to lean his head forward with his eyes clenched shut. As for their captain, he just started squinting. What happened next was something that would carve itself into their memories for all eternity...

Wart's bike swerved left. Katana's swerved right. Their captain went straight ahead. They couldn't tell they had separated from one another, but they could tell that, whatever it was their bikes were doing, it surely would have killed normal people...

Wart's bike had turned sideways. It was going as fast as possible and was practically driving down a wall as though it were the ground, but it didn't stop there. The more this bike drove on, the more sideways things were starting to feel. Wart felt as though every law of gravity had just shattered. Soon enough, the bike was upside-down. How was any of this possible?? He was clinging onto it as hard as he could. Fortunately, the road was beginning to twist itself right-side-up. However, that was just so the road could slant upwards and send the giant toad flying through the air. The humungous amphibean could feel his insides being tossed about. It felt as though he had been drifting through the air for hours. When he finally landed, he started wishing he was still flying. As if it wasn't bad enough the bike was going insanely fast and there was wind whipping in the ill-fortuned frog's face, this time, his bike was barreling down what felt like the non-stop bumping of an entire stair case spiraling downward. This made him kind of glad he couldn't see anything. He prayed this would all be over soon...

Katana's bike seemed to have entered an endless valley of hills. Every time the bike started flying through the air, it just landed harshly back onto the ground so it could go soaring full-tilt downward until it hit another ramp. The constant rising and falling of all this appeared to have instantaneous effects on the ill-fated alien's stomach. With all his strength, he struggled to make sure he wasn't about to do anything besides continue to cling desperately to the bike's handlebars. Unfortunately for him, not much of this was going to be ending any time soon. The last ramp was surely the longest one. It sent him flying through the air at an unbelievable speed. Again, this ended with the bike landing harshly. The silver alien was starting to wonder exactly how much the new bikes could take, as if that were important. The next thing he knew, he was spinning uncontrollably. For a second, he thought this may have been due to the fact the bike was merely trying to protect him from another web of strings, but, in the next second, he remembered the bike was still on the ground; it was just that it was driving on a road that wouldn't stop twisting around and around. Katana was wondering if this was all really happening...

The route the captain's bike had taken wasn't much better. It felt as though it had entered a U-shaped valley. The bike kept switching back and forth between being on the right side and being on the left side, as well as being high up and being in the middle of the valley. After hearing a few explosions, a few gun shots, and some metal scraping, he could tell why: if it didn't keep doing this, he'd be dead.

The valley ended with a ramp sending the captain soaring through the air. He didn't enjoy this next part. In it, the bike just kept making one rough landing after another. Each time it did so, it would jerk to some slightly different direction, then speed off from there. Although the captain's head had been swimming ever since he smashed that bottle over that one frog's head, he could tell that this was likely due to the fact that this part of the racetrack was little more than a bunch of blocks inexplicably floating around in random places. Then again, there didn't seem to be anything in this place that wasn't inexplicable...

V-V-VVROOOMMM!!! The three space aliens had finally gotten out of their ordeals. They were driving alongside one another once again. Wart and Katana looked as though they had just woken up from some extremely brutal nightmare, but the captain looked fine. The light was beginning to fade away. The aliens could finally stop bothering to protect their eyes somehow. They were seeing spots as though their picture had been taken a million times. Beyond them was nothing but brass road. That, and two rather large bleachers of Melon Bugs, as well as the finish line. As for Kreezo, he was nowhere in sight.

It didn't matter to them. They had a race to win (or their bikes did). The finish line was getting closer and closer. Crossing it was definitely not going to be anymore difficult than anything else they had endured that day. At last, the line had been passed. Once it did...

"BBOOOOOOOOO!!!" The Turbosus had stopped. The ride was over. Wart and Katana looked extremely annoyed. Their captain, on the other hand, was looking smug. He started smiling and waving to all the angry Melon Bugs. How could these nobodies have defeated the undefeatable Kreezo?

"Ladies and Melon Bugs," said the disembodied voice, "the unthinkable has happened... The invincible Kreezo...has lost..." The audience continued its jeering even after their golden hero had slowly rolled over the finish line himself with his bike. He looked as though all the motivation had been sucked from his body.

_They have every right to be angry,_ thought the speed of Tondariya. _This game was fixed..._

The surly racer hopped off his bike and began to stroll it past the three aliens. Wart and Katana watched him go, but he didn't do so much as even glance at them. Within a few seconds, the tall man in red and his two Melon Bugs had shown up. Once he saw Kreezo, he turned to him and said, "Nicely done, Kreezo." Kreezo merely responded by scoffing and saying something about loaded bikes. The red man told him he'd handle it. He left the golden motorcyclist to sulk off as he glided up to the three space aliens who were still basking in the audience's appreciation towards them, or lack thereof. "Gentlemen," he said, grabbing their attention, "I would just like to congratulate the three of you. I understand it must not have been easy to outperform the fastest thing in existence. As a reward, we shall send you and your spaceship, along with everyone on it, back to your world..."

The three aliens were delighted by the sound of this. Wart and Katana looked greatly relieved. The captain just started looking even more arrogant.

"But not everything..."

The smiles had been wiped off the faces of the aliens. They stared blankly at the red-robed man. "What?" Katana asked.

"Don't give me those confused looks," the red man demanded. "You were clearly lying when you told me you remembered the rules."

The captain made a snarling sound. "What?!" he said, more fiercely than his subordinate had.

"I distinctly said, 'If fewer than four of you are able to beat Kreezo, you may not get exactly what you want at the end of the race.' Gentlemen, I count three of you."

"You lying, son-of-a..." The captain trailed off. "This is a completely different race!! How could you carry something as trivial as that to over here?!"

The red-robed man tapped the brass ground with his spear. "Tondariya does not believe in individual battles; it's all one war."

The alien captain started growling things in such a deep rage, all he was doing, practically, was just spitting through his gritted teeth.

"Seeth all you want, but rules are rules," said the man in red. "You, your crewmates, and your spaceship will be returned to your world...but your reactor stones--all four of them--will stay here..."

All three of the aliens' jaws dropped. Katana and his captain were starting to yell out their protests.

"But, without those, we can't fly!!"

"How long will you continue to torment us, demon?!"

The man tapped his spear against the ground again. "It can't be helped. Your stones are ours..."

The two aliens continued to argue. Wart was merely trying to get them to calm down. The trio of Extra-Terrestrials were too caught up in their emotions to notice what looked like a star approaching them. Once they noticed this out of the corners of their eyes, they looked up. Behind this cretin in red was a huge mass of white light. It was such an ominous sight, even the Melon Bugs of the crowd had piped down over its sudden appearance. Everyone, including the space aliens started staring at it. Only the man in red and his two Melon Bugs felt no need to turn around. Then everyone could hear another disembodied voice. This one was a very smooth, silky, feminine one. It didn't seem to be of this world...

_"Visitors from another world... Our dual has ended. We must part now. We have demons to overcome and dreams to fulfill. Remember us...as we will remember you..."_

Everyone was completely silent. They kept staring at this light as though it was the thing that was breathing life into them. When Wart and Katana stared at it, they wondered if it was the same light they had passed through earlier. They also wondered what it would have meant had that have actually been the case. Who or what exactly was this unwordly presence?

The captain, however, could see more than just light. He wasn't sure if he was still intoxicated or if what he could see in this brightness was real. One way or another, it was there and he could see it. There was something exceptionally unusual about it he couldn't quite explain. It felt so familiar in a strange way. It was almost as though he had been peering into a past life...

"Wart, Katana... Titotal Gonnic..." It was the man in red speaking. A collection of white wind was starting to surround the three aliens. "I bid you farewell..." In a few seconds, a miniature tornado of a strange wind had engulfed the space-dwelling trio. Once the spell dissipated, it was revealed that they were gone. Them, and their motorcycles. The show was over. All of the Melon Bugs of the giant bleachers were starting to file away, beginning to make the place gradually emptier. In due time, the only ones left were two Melon Bugs, a man in red, and a white light. The man faced the mysterious existence behind him. "They're trying to take over our world, Tondariya," he said to it. "We can't let that happen."

_"I know, Shy King... We can't..."_

* * *

Back at Carnival Alley, two Goombas were busy trying to awaken a certain four-some of people lying on the ground. One of them was dressed like a Sackit and the other like a blue Snifit. "Come on! Wake up! This is no place to be taking a nap!" they were saying.

Slowly, Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif woke up. All of them were very groggy. "Oh, gosh," Xoshi mumbled. "What happened?"

"I fell for the same trick again," White Rose muttered. "Forgive me, Sir Xoshi..."

"What a strange occurrence," Leif mused.

"Grrr," said Davey. "That stupid Belome... I'm gonna kill him!! NOBODY kills my friends!!"

While rubbing his head, Xoshi had suddenly received a rather important message from Beel. He said it out loud. "Um, Davey..."

"What?!" Davey snapped.

"You know, he's not dead," Xoshi replied. "He's just cramped inside of that stuffed doll's stomach. We can still get'im out."

Davey's eyes lit up as he stared at Xoshi. "Is... Is that true??" Xoshi nodded reassuringly. Davey placed a hand over his chest and exhaled deeply. "Oh, thank God!!" The shrunken man was relieved beyond redemption. How great it was that he and his friend still had a chance of being reunited. It was a happy thought, but he still managed to wear a look of worry. "Just one thing," he added. "You guys...think you could help me?" he asked meekly.

Xoshi nodded. Leif pumped one arm towards him. White Rose said, "You can count on us."

Davey looked relieved again. "Alright," he said. "Just let me go and get my gun..."

The Sackit Goomba and the Snifit Goomba watched as these three guys waited patiently for this young boy to run off into the woods and come out, a few seconds later, with what could only have been a laser pistol of some sort. Once the four people were back together, they could experience a few more exchanges between them.

"Well," Davey stated, "Belome Rock, he said? Does anyone know how to get there?"

"I do," Leif replied.

"Alright then, Mr. Leif," Davey said. "Lead the way."

"Just Leif, will do," the Viking insisted.

Davey smiled at the huge man. "Alright, Leif," the boy said. Leif smiled back. With that, the large Marinotropolan began to walk towards the direction in which Belome had run earlier. Xoshi, White Rose, and the newly recruited Davey followed. The Sackit Goomba and the Snifit Goomba just watched.

"Honey," said the Snifit Goomba, "what do you suppose those guys are up to?"

"I dunno," the other Goomba moaned.

"Hmm..."

No sooner than when their ephemeral conversation came to a close did a voice call out from behind them. "Hey, you two, come on! It's time to go already!" They looked behind them. It was the pink Bandit that had brought them here in the first place. A lot of the other Goombas were with him as well.

"Coming, Pammit!" called the Snifit Goomba. Soon enough, she and her companion were amidst all the other Goombas, awaiting this pink Bandit's orders.

"So, that's everyone?" he said. He got an assortment of confirmations from his group of Goombas in response. "Okay, then. Off we go!" Thus, the pink Bandit, Pammit, began to lead the little Goombas away from Carnival Alley. The happy, yet strange place of games and stands of all kinds was starting to drift away from them. It was time for life to return to normal again.

_Another day and counting, I suppose,_ the Bandit thought. The group of Goombas trudged on...

* * *

"Ugh... Blifit..."

"You alright, boss?"

"Huh??"

Sackle and Crookie were trapped. For a while now, they had been dwelling within what looked like a giant cylinder of impenetrably thick ice that must have been a few feet thick. Supposedly, the whole thing was kept from melting thanks to some sort of magical reinforcement. Between its two prisoners, Sackle was the one that woke up long after the other one. He was pretty confused after he did so.

"Ugh... Crookie? What's goin' on? Where are we?" Sackle asked.

"I dunno, boss. I think we're still in that one cave. That ghost girl must have thrown us in here, or something. By the way, you wanna snow cone?"

Sackle was even more confused. He looked up. Right next to his subordinate was a purple crocodile woman donned in a red bandanna, a pair of sunglasses, and a yellow dress shirt. Quite a bit of her looked as though it were covered in these black splotches. The woman was smiling and she had a snow cone in each clawed hand. A third one was being held by Crookie. He was enjoying it thoroughly. "Uhh..." Sackle uttered. "Who's this?"

"This? This is Crania! She's a cook and a mechanic! Isn't that great?" Crookie explained. "What's more, she's been down here before we have! Pretty cool, huh?"

Sackle looked around. He noticed that one part of this wall looked as though it had a huge chunk missing from it. He noticed another part had a toolbox right in front of it. Then he looked at Crania and her snow cones. He got up off the ground and took one from the woman. "Uh, thanks," he obliged. He bit into the frosty delicacy and let it melt in his mouth. It was cherry. "So, uh, Crania," Sackle said, "what's your story?"

"Me and my family... We run a shop at Bandit's Way," the woman explained. "People from all over come to us, wanting things fixed. Lately, though, we've been running a bit low on supplies. When I heard of this place and how it was just LOADED with stuff lying around that we could use, I headed on over."

"Yeah," Sackle responded, taking another bite of his snow cone, "Blifit always liked old junk."

"Oh, but had I have known it was haunted, I probably wouldn't have come. Now I'm stuck here..."

"Hmm..." Sackle took another bite. He once again looked at the hole in the wall, the toolbax, and at Crookie and Crania eating their snow cones. "Listen, uh, Crania..."

"Yes?"

"Tell me," he asked, "you won't be needing any help with your snow cones any time soon, will you?..."

* * *

The spell was complete. For the second time in a long time, Kammelina and Kammeo had finally managed to finish up with their potion. It was glowing a healthy green and both witches were ecstatic.

"See, sister?" Kammelina gloated. "I told you we needed Marinotropolan swine!"

"Yes, yes. Rub it in, why don't you... Would you just get on with it, sister?"

"Capital idea, Kammeo," Kammelina retorted. Once again, she closed her eyes, raised her arms, and started speaking dramatically. "Oh, great mass of our creation; lend me your ears! You shall bring forth the one being in existence who shall smite our enemies and bring glory to our god, Veyran! GO NOW! SUMMON...THE KROSHI!!"

Both she and her sister stepped back as the contents of their cauldron began to glow even brighter. Then it floated out of the magical pot in the form of a glowing, misshapen blob. The ugly thing floated and whirled around in mid-air for a little while. Then it started to whirl even faster and fill the room up with a bright green light. Kammelina and Kammeo shielded their eyes as this newly formed brightness whited out the whole room in a huge flash. Once they could sense the magic had died down, they took their sleeved arms away from their eyes and continued to watch what was going on above their cauldron. This time, the potion had taken on the form of a Yoshi. Gradually, the Yoshi-shaped substance began to stop glowing so immensely. At last, this new creature's true colors were revealed. It floated down and started standing on top of the rim of the pot. Its feet were bare. Its skin was gold and its exposed claws were silver, just as its belly was. It even had a silver-rimmed saddle, which was ruby red, just as its spikes and its eyes were. The Yoshi-like creature was even wearing bejeweled rings and bracelets. It looked incomprably wealthy. Both of the witches were awed by its appearance.

"Ah, the Kroshi," Kammelina said as she began to walk towards the summoned creature. "The one being in existence that can show our enemies what's good for them." Then the woman began to address the specimen more directly. "Alright, you, listen up," the witch said, causing the Kroshi to turn its head towards her. "There's a man out there. His name is Tito. He and his fellow space aliens are trying to take over our world. Only Veyran is allowed to do that!! We want you to go out there and show him who's boss! You're the only one who can!!"

It was a fine speech, but the Kroshi's emotionless expression didn't change. It just continued to stare at the blonde-haired witch. It looked like it knew something she didn't. This confused her. Then the Kroshi started talking. "No," it said. This shocked both Kammelina and Kammeo to a great extent. "I don't want to."

"W-W-What?!" Kammelina spazzed. "What in the world are you talking about?! You have to!! You're the only one who can!! Have you any idea what we went through trying to find the right ingredients just so we could summon you?!"

"No, and, frankly, I don't care," the Kroshi scoffed. He began to look at his fingernails almost absentmindedly. "I'm powerful. REALLY powerful. That's all that matters, doesn't it?"

"But... But..." This time, Kammeo was arguing. The Kroshi wasn't looking at her, though. "The fact that you're powerful is why we need you! Heck, the whole world needs you! Don't you know that??"

"I know that," the Kroshi said, uninterestedly. "That's why I need more power..." The arrogant Yoshi-like creature hopped off the cauldron, causing Kammelina to jump back a step. He looked first at her, then at Kammeo behind him. "Well, ladies," he said, "see you later..." BOING!! The creature shot itself out of the hole in the witches' roof using his super strong legs. Horrified beyond belief, the two witches ran up to their window. They saw the golden Yoshi taking one enormous leap into the air and slowly coming back down over and over again. It was as though his body hardly weighed a thing. He was gradually getting deeper and deeper into the surrounding woods. Kammelina turned to Kammeo with the most dead serious expression on her face.

"Kammeo," she said, "we can't take this one sitting down. We have to track that guy down and knock some sense into him! There's no telling what he'll do!!"

"You know, sister, for once, I agree with you," Kammeo said. A few minutes later, the two female Magikoopas had grabbed their broomsticks. Once again, they had mounted them and flown out of the hole in their roof. Both of them had grave facial expressions, especially Kammelina.

_Kroshi,_ she thought as she and her sister started flying overthe tree-tops, _we won't let ANYONE hinder Veyran's plans...and that includes you..._


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**  
It was high noon now. Cutlass still didn't have any answers. All he knew was that he had been walking for a while now across a big mountain of some sort that, oddly enough, was covered entirely in a big green blanket of fuzzy moss. It got him to start wondering whether this was really a mountain or just one ridiculously huge rock. Either way, it didn't help his cause.

After walking out of the shadow of one of the mountain's more high-raised parts and into the sunlight, Cutlass started rubbing the back of his head, remembering how something horrible had happened to it a little while ago. Doing so caused him to start feeling something gritty and kind of greasy. Once he pulled his hand away from his head so he could examine it, he noticed his fingers had gotten a few specks of something silver and sparkly. Mostly though, he had gotten something dark red and dirt-like. This confused the silver man. That most definitely wasn't his blood.

The silver man wondered for a few seconds whose blood exactly this was. When he decided mulling it over in his head wasn't going to do him any good, he started walking again, only to suddenly find his foot had landed in something with a SPLAT. Looking down, much to his disgust, he had ruined his right boot by stepping in a puddle of blood of all things. What disgusted him even more was what he managed to discover upon lifting his foot from the muck: this blood was oozing out of the moss itself.

Cutlass wondered what this could possibly have meant. Was this whole place really more than just one big rock? Was it the wrath of some local angry ghost? What did it mean? Just when he was about to contemplate further on the matter, the man suddenly noticed the sun had been blotted out. He was in the middle of an ominous shadow. Turning around and looking up, he could tell what was looming in on him. Bravely, the swordsman withdrew his weapon and leapt at the thing...

* * *

Hyrg had his sword out. Various vampire-like creatures kept lunging towards him with their claws and their fangs out, but he wasn't going to go down so easily. A swing here, and one of them went sprawling with a newly formed bloody gash going across his chest. A swing there, and another one started clutching at the wound on his left shoulder. He was doing pretty good. Unfortunately, that was when one of the creatures suddenly leapt at him, grabbed him by his shoulders, and started staring at his neck with its fangs bared. Having been frightened for a second, the young boy thought fast and kicked the fiend somewhere between its legs. Immediately, it backed off, and fell down in pain. The young Death Sickle winced in agony from the claw marks his shoulders had just gained. He had to maintain his composure, though, for there were still more of these things coming at him. It was quite the fight that was going on in the middle of these woods...

From Galileo's perspective, however, the boy was not in the middle of the woods. Rather, he was on top of a wooden platform, sticking out of the floor in the form of a cylinder, complete with a side made of stairs. The teacher and his student were in a vast room loaded with these things. Each person that was dancing atop one had stuck to their foreheads somehow a small, rectangular piece of paper with strange writing on it. Hyrg was no exception.

Galileo continued to watch his disciple fight off all these invisible enemies. _Come on, Hyrg,_ he thought, _Swoompires are nothing..._

* * *

Somewhere out there, a group of six people were walking down a path of some sort. The whole thing was rock-hard and it was covered in moss. It seemed to perplex five of them to know end.

"So this is Belome Rock," Laser Snifit mused. "Quite the weird place, I see."

"Yeah, it's weird alright," Big Guy agreed. He turned to Annabyss. "So, Annie, what's the story? What's the deal with this place?"

"It's more than just a mountain, as you may have guessed," said the shadowy woman. "Although it's difficult for one to tell such a thing at first glance, it is, in actuality, but a giant map of the Clover Kingdom as well as the sea around it."

All five of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa looked utterly shocked to hear this. "A... A giant map??" Tessa asked.

"Yes, but it's not just that," Annabyss stated. "It seems to also have a sixth sense of its own."

"Wha... What do you mean by that?" Snifit inquired.

"This mountain... It can tell when someone in the Clover Kingdom is going to die a horrible death within two days," Annabyss explained. "Exactly where is represented by these spots on this giant map that start bleeding."

Annabyss's five companions stopped dead in their tracks after hearing that. This dwarfed the fact this whole mountain was a map. "W... Wow," Big Guy breathed. "This mountain's got some problems."

"It almost sounds like this place is cursed," Tessa commented.

"I wonder what kind of creature those guys at Full Moon were looking for here," Laser Snifit said.

"What matters now is not the whereabouts of the creature, but of its would-be assailants," Annabyss clarified.

"So, how are we gonna find those guys then?" Big Guy wondered.

Then the sextet heard it; it was the sound of someone screaming in agony. "STOP IT!! LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE!!"

"Well, I guess that answers that question," Snifit said.

"Let's go!!" Big Guy exclaimed. He started running towards the source of the noise. The others weren't too far behind him...

* * *

Somewhere in the Death Sickles' secret hideout, a man was walking around. He had a place to head for as well as a thought process to go through. _Only once the sky turns black,_ he thought, _do human beings truly begin to draw out their strength..._Elsewhere, an extremely bony woman was walking up to a wolf-like man. Apparently, he wasn't the only one interested in all these people fighting off invisible enemies. "Ah, Oceanus, what brings you here?" Galileo asked. 

"Nothing," said the dead woman. "I just wanted to see how my tags were working."

"Oh, they're working great," the wolf responded. "Hyrg here, he's using the one that makes you see Swoompires."

"I see..."

A few seconds after that, a man strode up to them. Once they noticed his presence, Galileo was slightly surprised, but Oceanus didn't seem to be affected in the least. "Ah, Minister Zelm," the wolf said. "How are things going?"

"Splendid," said the old man in his deep voice. "I merely decided it'd be most pleasurable to see my disciples honing their potential."

"Sounds good," Galileo replied.

"Speaking of which," the elderly man added, "how goes it with you and the new one, Hyrg?"

"Well, he started off a bit shaky, but I think he's starting to get the hang of it," the hairy man answered.

"That is good," Zelm elicited. "After all," he added, "we can't be too careful during a time when the accursed night is almost upon us..."

Oceanus didn't really react to this, but Galileo started blinking for a bit. "Excuse me, sir?" he asked.

"It is but an old man's ramblings. Pay it no mind," Zelm replied.

"Hm..."

At the moment, Hyrg, in his illusion, was surrounded in dead Swoompire bodies. He had his sword out, and his breath was becoming ragged. Then, with his peripheral vision, he could tell one of them was flying towards his side with its claws bared. With a rather swift reaction time, the boy spun around and slashed out a bloody gash going across the thing's chest. Once that happened, the creature winced in pain, went sprawling, and joined its downed brethren. Hyrg stared at his latest work, still panting as though he had been jogging non-stop for hours on end. Then WHAM!! A stray Swoompire tackled him from behind. Hyrg cursed to himself. The sudden attack not only made his feet leave the ground; it made him feel as though gravity suddenly ceased to exist. He was soaring through the woods with this monster stuck to him, and there was nothing he could do about it...

His head was about to crash into something blunt when ZING!! He wasn't flying anymore; he was floating. The Swoompire that had him was gone, as were the woods. Even the tag on his forehead had gone missing. He was back in the basement of the Death Sickles' secret hideout. Looking behind him, he could see the one behind all this was Minister Zelm with his left palm held out. "Don't get yourself killed, boy," he said. "They're not even the real thing..."

Upon further inspection, Hyrg could notice this was the same wrinkled hand he used to send him flying that one time he tried attacking him without even thinking. Not only that, he could also notice there was something coming out of the center of its palm. It looked like some type of dark grey mark leaving a spiraling shape on his hand that extended all the way around his wrist and then some. Hyrg couldn't see what else was beneath those sleeves.

Then the old man broke the spell. He gently let the boy down so he could stand freely again. "Well, Oceanus, Galileo, Hyrg," the old man said, "stay in good health. I'm going to check up on the other students..."

The two older Death Sickles said their own temporary farewells as the elderly one began to stride away. Hyrg just watched him go in wonder. "Galileo," he said, "what was that thing on his left hand?"

"A scar," the wolf stated. "He got it when he fought an extremely powerful wizard a while ago. Neither man won."

Hyrg looked away from his teacher and back to the old man who was talking to some more Death Sickles just around the corner. A very quizzical look was on his face. "Say," he said, "how powerful exactly is that Zelm guy, anyway?"

"Minister Zelm, Hyrg," the wolf corrected. Hyrg rolled his eyes. "He's our leader."

"Yeah, I know."

"No, I mean, the fact in of itself that he's our leader should serve as proof of just how powerful he really is."

"And, uh," Hyrg hesitated, "how powerful is that?"

"Well," the wolf exclaimed, "lemme put it this way: if you even THINK about killing him, you'd be a pile of dust before you even blink."

Hyrg looked a little shocked. He scratched his head some. "Uh," he said, unable to believe such a thing from such an old man, "is that true?"

"_I_ wouldn't mess with him," Galileo said, while holding his right hand up beside his hand. Oceanus placed one of her tags between its fingers. "Now come on," he added, handing the little piece of paper to the young Death Sickle. "You still gotta work on maintaining your alertness."

"Alright," the boy responded, taking the piece of paper from his instructor. Catching on, he ran back up the stairs, got back into the middle of the platform, and slapped the amulet back onto his forehead. Somehow, it stuck, and the illusion started back up again. Once again, he was in the middle of the woods. It didn't take long for the Swoompires to start leaping out of nowhere and attacking him once more. Again, the boy had his sword out and he was ready for anything...

In real life, Oceanus and Galileo were watching this young boy fight off more invisible enemies. The female patron broke the silence after a while. "Does he ever annoy you?" she asked.

"Not really," Galileo responded. "After all... He and I are a lot alike..."

Elsewhere in the basement, the leader of the Death Sickles was talking to two others that weren't necessarily on one of the platforms fighting off unseen enemies. Little did anyone know that, through one of the small windows near the ceiling of this place, a devious trio was spying on them.

"That Minister Zelm thinks he's so tough..."

"God, how I'd like to strangle that guy..."

"Just think, old man... Tomorrow is your last day... Heh heh heh..."

* * *

In one neck of Belome Rock, there was an upraised wall of moss-covered rock. Being backed into it by a group of six brigands was a very odd creature. It resembled a giant dog with four eyes and a huge tongue hanging out of its mouth. It also had a number of blue marks all over its battered and bruised body. Whatever it was, it was sweating and shaking at the same time. Fear wracked its whole body. "Please... I beg of you... Leave me alone!!"

However, its attackers weren't so easily persuaded. They all resembled a bunch of Chuckyas, but with the feet of Bob-Ombs, as well as these wicks sticking out of their heads to replace the usual antannae. Also, their dominant colors actually consisted of grey and dark grey rather than purple and red. These were the Cutchyas, and they weren't taking their prey too seriously. The one in front just scoffed. "And tell us," he said, "why would we do that? Are you even aware of how many people out there would just love to have the power that you do?"

"I... I..."

"Listen up, you freak," the leader exclaimed, "what Albert Einamite wants, Albert Einamite gets, and waht he wants is your power. You got that?!"

The beast just whimpered some more.

"This is your last chance." The head hoodlum unsheathed a knife and pointed it at the creature. "Either come quietly, or we cut you up and take you by force. It's your choice."

"I..." The dog-like thing took a gulp with his parched throat. He gathered up his courage and glared his enemy in the eye. "I won't give myself up to such lowlifes like you!!"

"Heh... Well, you heard'im, guys." The other five members of this gang pulled out similar knives. "Let's get'im..." The incongruous six-some began to advance on the ill-fated dog. "Sorry, but it's Albert Einamite's orders..."

"I'm sorry, gentlemen." The group of six moving towards the strange dog suddenly stopped and turned around. They noticed another group of six had just shown up. "But I'm afraid your dear Albert Einamite is no more..."

The Cutchyas looked offended by Annabyss's words. "What did you just say?!" one of them yelled.

"That place you guys all work for, Full Moon," Big Guy stepped in, "we blew it all sky high. There were no survivors."

The Cutchyas all started clutching at their knives even more tightly. "YOU LIE!!" another one yelled.

"I'm afraid, we do not, gentlemen," Annabyss said apologetically. "We do not take kindly to injustice, so your Albert Einamite along with his General Wind-up have now perished. Now, will you take advantage of this opportunity to turn your lives around, or must you suffer the same fate?"

Some of the Cutchyas were hissing through their teeth. Others were just looking shifty-eyed. As for their leader, he just scoffed again. "Guys," he said, "whatever you do, don't take any of their crap." He began to grip his knife harshly once more. "Let's just get'em and get this over with!!"

"YEAH!!" It had officially begun. With their blood boiling, all six Cutchyas raised their knives into the air, waving them dangerously. Their six opponents could easily see what was coming.

"Oh lord, not this again," Laser Snifit moped.

"I'm ready, Annie," Tessa said.

"Don't hold back, Tessa dear."

Wario and Waluigi just cracked their knuckles. Big Guy whipped out his trademark club. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he said. "LET'S DO THIS!!"

The two groups rushed towards each other. Within seconds, all twelve people had paired up. Thus, the battle begun...

As the lucky ones, Wario and Waluigi both just got the most basic of the Cutchyas. Wario got the one with a knife in his right hand, and Waluigi got the one with it in its left. Wario's opponent came at him from the left, and Waluigi's from the right. POW! WHAM! Waluigi's enemy went flipping backwards across the ground and Wario's went sprawling sideways. Kicks and punches proved to work just fine. A few seconds later, both Cutchyas were back on their feet with their weapons in hand. Were these creatures really not much different from the Chuckyas?...

Big Guy got the one carrying what appeared to be a abnormally large knife. In spite of the apparent difference in size between it and its wielder, it didn't seem to hinder anyone's progress in battle, save for that of Big Guy. The Cutchya swung at his left ankle, and he jumped. He swung at his right ankle, and he jumped. Then he went for the chest. CLANG! Big Guy blocked the blow with his club. The two struggled to overpower each other's weapon. SHING! Both weapons slid off one another. Big Guy and his opponent locked eyes for one second, then went charging with their weapons out again...

Laser Snifit's opponent was the one with the very long, thin, and katana-like knife. He was surprisingly nimble with it. He kept back-flipping through the air and swinging it around as though it were more of a prehensile tail of some sort rather than an actual blade. Dodging it repeatedly made Laser Snifit feel as though it were raining knives. After a while, he got sick of this and he fired one of his hoop-shaped lasers at the pest. CHING! Much to the 8-Bit's surprise, this had no effect whatsoever. The Cutchya merely deflected the strange projectile with his sword. The odd hoop disappeared into the sky, and all Laser Snifit could do was wonder what he was going to do about this guy's knife...

The weapon of Tessa's opponent was indeed a strange one; it resembled a giant ninja star consisting of three curvy prongs. The Cutchya used the hole in the middle to balance it atop his ball-like hand like a frisbee. Then he whipped his arm around and fired. With some rather quick reflexes, the girl jolted her head to the left and let the unusual weapon sail past her harmlessly. Then she got herself back into a normal fighting stance, faced the enemy, and started making little lightning bolts fly off of her gloves. SHING!! The girl yelped and jumped to the right. A bloody gash appeared in the left sleeve of her robe and the Cutchya once again had his weapon in his hand. This confused the girl, but she knew this was no time to be so. She was in the middle of making the sparks appear some more when she suddenly started having to hop on one foot. This time, the enemy's weapon was running along the ground like a runaway hubcap. It had nearly hacked into her right leg. Fortunately, her quick thinking got her to save her left once the blade came back around. Staring in frustration at who she was fighting, she noticed the blade was back in his hand. Whatever that thing was, it was way worse than a boomerang...

Annabyss was having an easier time of it. Her opponent kept firing thin, needle-like knives at her, but they would only land in the ground so long as she kept dodging in her monkey form. Her enemy may have been the leader of the Cutchyas, but he wasn't doing too well, even with that strange knife of his. He was about to use it as a makeshift needle gun once more, but Annabyss had already gotten in his face and transformed herself into a tiger. WHAP!! The Cutchya started rolling uncontrollably across the moss-covered ground. CHINK! In a flash, he stopped himself by jamming his knife into the ground. Quickly, he was standing once again. He glared at this shadowy woman before beginning his attack again. He was sure he could take her; it was just going to be a bit tricky...

The right-handed Cutchya and the left-handed Cutchya weren't giving up. They were charging at Wario and Waluigi at full speed with their knives pointed forward like lances. Once the Kamenstein Bros. saw this, they just scoffed. What happened in the next instant practically turned these two Cutchyas' worlds completely upside-down, almost literally. In the blink of an eye, Wario had snatched the right-handed one in a bear hug and jumped high up into the air with the pseudo-Bob-Omb's head pointed towards the ground. Similarly, Waluigi had ensared his enemy's head between his ankles like a bear trap. With his hands planted firmly on the ground, he flipped his legs through the air like a ball-and-chain. Wario just started spiraling towards the ground. The next second, WHAM!! Both Cutchyas had been defeated. They were stuck in the ground like two very large seeds. The brothers resumed standing upright. They wiped the dust off of their hands to the sound of two knives clattering to the ground behind them. These two had done it, but how were the others holding up?

CLANG!! The two weapons of Big Guy and his attacker had locked once more. Again, they struggled until the two instruments of battle slid off of each other. Once these two fighters had reentered fighting stances and started watching one another carefully, Big Guy started wondering if it was really going to go on like this. Just when he had managed to think up an experiment, he had to jump again. He reasoned he was going to have to be able to pull this off, even at the cost of his ankles...

Laser Snifit had formed a plan himself. He was already carrying it out. True, he was still dodging his nemesis' long knife like crazy, but each time he did so, he got a little closer to him, even though, at the same time, this also meant the dodging was getting a little harder. SHING! A flip to the side, and Snifit had succeeded in saving his right shoulder. The Cutchya was a bit perplexed by how close this grey-robed man had become, but he decided to continue to swing regardless. Just when the blade was about to come down once more, BANG!! It was out of his fists. Laser Snifit and jumped into the air and punted it out at the right time. Once the Cutchya heard a SHING behind him, he turned around. Then a heard a TSEW and he sprang through the air. He landed safely. That laser nearly had him. Then ZZAAPP!! The little swordsman's body lit on fire. Before he could wonder how this happened, he passed out. Snifit watched him do so in satisfaction. Over there, he could see the long knife sticking out of the ground, wobbling back and forth from the hit it recently took. Laser Snifit felt proud of himself for using that guy's knife against him. Now if only the others could do the same...

Tessa's body was starting to get tired. It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like it had been hours. This whole time, she had been discovering method after method of dodging this guy's shuriken. She figured it wasn't going to take long for this Cutchya to start growing weary of scarring only the ground. As for the girl herself, she was just becoming annoyed. A flick of the wrist later, and the blade was back in her enemy's hand. She stood firm, panting, knowing perfectly well she was going to have to end this soon...

After jumping around and swerving out of the way enough times, both Big Guy and the Cutchya with the enormous knife were in the same fighting stance. For about the third time during this match, they locked eyes. Then they struck. CLANG!!! This time, the blow of their weapons seemed to be extra severe. Both combatants commenced struggling for the millionth time. During this, Big Guy was feeling mischievous. SHING! The weapons slid off once again, but, this time, it was different. This time, it was due to the fact Big Guy had suddenly taken a dive as though he had just slipped on a puddle of oil. This banged his shoe against the foot of his foe, sending him soaring. Both of these suddenly occurrences had gotten Big Guy's enemy exactly where he wanted him. SHING!! He was dangling helplessly from the handle of this giant knife sticking out of the ground. The next thing he saw was Big Guy starting to swing his club like a bat...

The Cutchya's leader was becoming worn out greatly. His breath kept coming out in painful puffing sounds. He glared at his female predator, who didn't appear to have shed even a single bead of sweat. Snarling, he lifted his unusual knife once more and started unleashing upon the silhouette-like woman a non-stop barrage of weird, little knives. However, it was no use. In one little explosion of rainbow-colored sparks after another, each knife seemed to just bounce away, inches from the shape-shifter's face. At last, the Cutchya ceased the attack. He started staring at this woman in confusion and fury.

"What are you?" he asked.

"I am..." Annabyss turned herself into a boa constrictor. In one second, the panick-stricken leader of the Cutchyas was between her coils. "...The woman who shall free this world..."

The Cutchya's mind began to race madly as this woman began to crush his body. This couldn't be the end. This couldn't be the failure of their mission.

Then it happened. "AAAUUURRRGGGHHH!!!" Two big losses had been suffered. One Cutchya had been chopped in two. The other had been sent tumbling down the side of the mountain. Big Guy's secret was that he had connected his club to the face of his enemy while he was hanging right in front of his own humungous blade, thus causing two dead bodies to fall to the ground beside it. As for Tessa, simply enough, she had fired one of her yellow lasers at the key moment. Her Cutchya had hurled his ninja star straight for her, but the girl sent it flying right back. It jammed itself into his shoulder, and he went hurtling backwards. Even now, his screams as he continued to go bumping down this tremendous rock remained ringing in his leader's ears.

"This can't be," the head Cutchya breathed as he continued to be pressed against himself. "This can't be!! The world belongs to General Wind-up!! It belongs to him!! WE CAN'T FAIL!! WE CAN'T-"

Then everything turned red. Then it turned black. Annabyss unraveled herself from the Cutchya's dead body. She returned herself to her normal form and looked at what had become of her latest victim. Like four others, he had become a corpse lying uselessly on the ground. Along with two large knives sticking out of it and three others lying on it, this was all that was left of the six Cutchyas. The mission had been a success.

"W... Wow..."

Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss turned their heads. Behind them, this whole time, had been the unusual creature they had done this for. His body was still covered in black and blue splotches, but a smile was on his face as he struggled to stand up again.

"I don't know who you folks are, but I owe you one," it said.

"No reward is necessary," Annabyss replied. "We are merely doing what life as beings with senses of right and wrong requires from us."

"Thank you," the dog said again. "I've been having nothing but bad luck for the past few days. I was wondering when it was all going to turn itself around."

"Bad luck?" Tessa asked.

"Yeah," the four-eyed thing said. "First this giant bird shows up, then I start feeling these huge amounts of pain for no reason, and then those guys show up. I wasn't sure how much more of it I could take."

"By the way," Laser Snifit started, "why exactly were they after you in the first place?"

"Well, if you should know," the canine began, "it's because I am my ancestor's descendant."

"Your ancestor?"

"Yes. His name was Belome. As you can guess, this mountain is his legacy. They say he sealed the spirit of a witch deep inside of it a long time ago. Unfortunately, at the same time, he brought a curse upon him and his family. Now, no matter what, a Belome always has to be guarding this place."

"Why is that?" Tessa inquired.

"Something about our blood makes the seal extra strong, I guess," the dog shrugged, somewhat solemnly. "But I hate it here. We've all hated it here. It's cursed. Weird stuff has always been happening here, and it's not just the fact that it keeps bleeding."

Big Guy, Laser Snifit, and Tessa seemed to all shutter at the thought of this. Wario, Waluigi, and Annabyss, of course, appeared to be unaffected by it. The descendant of Belome went on.

"Sometimes, I wonder if guarding this place is really necessary. I mean, hardly anyone out there really knows its secret anymore. On top of that, they say if all this moss weren't here, the curse would be lifted." The burdened dog heaved a sigh. "That'd be great, huh? Then I wouldn't be stuck here. I'd actually be able to go out there and see the world... But, what the hey, that's not gonna happen, right?"

"It will."

The Belome's eyes lit up. He looked at Annabyss dead on. "What did you say??"

"We're on our way to Uaurpe," the woman explained. "Once there, we'll retrieve all 120 of the Super Sparkles and use them to set the world right. If you'd like, we could use their power to lift the curse of this mountain."

The four-eyed dog looked as though he was starting to vibrate with excitement. "Wow!! You'd do that for me??" Annabyss nodded. "Oh, thank you!! Gosh, I don't know how to repay you!"

"Your blessing alone is enough, dear."

"Oh, THANK YOU!..."

A few minutes later, the Belome's six new friends had said goodbye and had begun to ascend the mountain. The fact that this day was an extra sunny one complete with a totally cloudless sky may as well have brightened their moods even further, Big Guy's especially. He couldn't stop strutting over the fact that, for once, saving someone's life had actually done him some good. Laser Snifit, on the other hand, couldn't stop wondering about something.

"Hey, Annabyss?" he asked.

"Yes, dear?"

"These Super Sparkle things," he began, "are they really capable of that much?"

"As a matter of fact, dear," Annabyss answered, "there is NOTHING they can't do..."

* * *

Those last few Swoompires may have been a waste of time, but this huge one was proving to be rather difficult. Hyrg had been unarmed. All he could do was try to push this guy's arms back. To bring this fight to a close, he simply kicked the beast in the shin. This proved effective as it stunned the behemoth for a second or two. During that time, Hyrg had gotten his sword back in his hand. The Swoompire was about to tackle him again when SHING!! His head had been lopped off.

Both that and the body fell to the ground loudly. With this, the forest was dead quiet at last. There was nothing more to do. Having that in mind, the boy began to fiddle around at the air in front of his face until it grabbed something invisible. He gave it a tug, and WHOOSH! The illusion had been killed. He was back on the platform with an amulet in his hand. He commenced walking down the stairs of the platform to Galileo. The wolf looked to be rather pleased.

"Good job, Hyrg," he said. "Maybe soon, you'll be able to move on to Centaurs."

"Thanks," the boy obliged.

"Alright then. Time for our break."

The two Death Sickles had moved their ways out of the basement and up the stairs. Once in one of the many vast hallways of the hideout, Hyrg got to catch a glimpse of two people in a room making out with each other. He looked a little disturbed by it. "Is that Alexander and Kitty?"

"Yup."

"What's the deal with them?"

"Their wedding rehearsal's tomorrow." Hyrg's eyes bugged out once he heard this. "I'm invited. You're more than welcome to come with, if you'd like."

"Uh... Sure."

"Alright then."

The teacher and his student continued to walk. During this, Hyrg was left alone with his thoughts. He felt he was constantly finding out new things about this place. _So not only can people actually laugh here,_ he reasoned, _but they can also fall in love. How weird..._

* * *

A group of six was still moving its way through a certain mountain. The area was relatively quiet for the most part, until one member of this group decided to strike up conversation with another. "So, Snifit," Big Guy started, "you like being able to shoot lasers out of your nose and stuff?"

The grey 8-Bit paused a bit to soak in his friend's idiocy. Then he responded. "Yeah. It comes in handy, I guess."

"Yeah, wish I could do something like that..." The enormous Shy Guy said nothing for a few seconds as though he were deep in thought. "Hey," he finally said, "you know that gunk that turned us into this?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't suppose its effects are temporary, do you?"

Snifit seemed to suddenly start walking a bit more slowly. "Um," he said, "actually, the thought had never really occurred to me."

"I hope it's not temporary, though," Big Guy shared. "Being huge has its advantages, you know? After all, you never know when some form of trouble or another's gonna rear in its ugly head..."

What happened next was as sudden as a whip cracking. "GET BACK!!" Annabyss transformed herself into a Boo Blah, and used one of her long arms to knock everyone out of the way, but it didn't do her much good. BOOM!!! Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa may have been spared, but this sudden assault had left their enigmatic female leader lying down on the ground with smoke rising from her body.

"ANNIE!!" Tessa screamed.

"Look out!!" Laser Snifit yelled. Instantaneously, everyone had become alert. They all managed to run away in time before yet another pair of tremendous white lasers could collide with them. BOOM!!! With their weapons drawn and their fists up, they looked to see the source of all these attacks: it was an unbelievably huge, green, stork-like, monstrous bird with four wings. Whatever it was, it was circling them like a giant vulture. Judging by how its eyes were starting to glow white, it was also about to fire again. "Oh no you don't," Snifit growled. TSEW!! He fired one circle of energy at the beast's leg. BAM! It hit the target right where it was supposed to, but it may as well have been made out of water. It had no effect whatsoever. "WHAT?!"

"Snifit, COME ON!!" Big Guy yelled. BOOM!! It was a good thing these five people got out of the way just in time. Sadly, this didn't change the fact they were cornered and this new, seemingly indestructable monster clearly wasn't going to continue scorching the mountain all day.

"What do we do?!" Tessa moaned.

"Should we just make a break for it?!" Big Guy yelled.

Then something suddenly leapt out of nowhere and latched itself onto the fowl's back like a giant claw. It whipped out a sword and stabbed the monstrosity in its shoulder. This caused the feathered demon to start beating its wings viciously and screeching like a bottomless pit full of ghouls. The five people it was attacking earlier watched as this man grabbed a hold of the fiend's large neck and leapt off of it, carrying the whole thing like a gigantic sack of feathers. He aimed for one of the equally large, upraised horns of Belome Rock and swung the merciless beast at it. WHAM!! This practically caused a tremor to shake the entire mountain like a giant bell. The five people watching this fight could feel it. The attack also caused a huge, bloody wound to open up between two of this bird's wings. Back on level ground, the man tried continuing to chase it with his sword out, but it was gone. The demonic creature finally started to beat its wings like crazy so it could get as far away from the man as possible. The silver person watched sternly with quick breaths as his humungous enemy flew away. The fight was over.

_Strange,_ he thought, _why do I keep getting the feeling I've heard of this beast before?_

Trying to return his respiration to normal, he relaxed his shoulders and stuffed his sword back in its scabbard. He could finally start taking it easy...almost.

"WHOA!! YEAH!! MAN, THAT WAS AWESOME!!"

Startled, the man turned around to find four people running up to him, yelling praises to him. Behind this odd quartet was a little girl in a strange, lightly colored robe trying to wake up a mysterious woman on the ground. This entire scene confused the man to no end.

"Annie, Annie!! Are you okay? Did you see what happened?"

"I'm fine, dear, and yes, I saw the whole thing..."

As the woman got up and started brushing herself off, four people started walking a strange silver man towards her like a celebrity. He was a handsome young man with long, messy white hair, red eyes, and a rather vibrant uniform that was torn in some places. In fact, both of its sleeves had gone missing entirely, so the swordsman's muscles were in plain view. He looked very befuddled.

"Annie, did you see??" Big Guy hooted. "This guy kicked that huge bird's butt!"

"He's amazing!" Laser Snifit.

Annabyss nodded. "I, too, have witnessed his strength, dears, and am in awe by it, but please... I don't doubt he could use some breathing space now."

Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, and Waluigi got the picture. They let go of the man and started backing up, still muttering in pure excitement. At this point, Annabyss and the gifted swordsman were standing directly in front of each other. The man stared into the woman's rainbow eyes in what may as well have been both confusion and mesmerization.

"Young man, you have saved us," Annabyss said. "For that, you have our gratitude. I am Annabyss, Queen of the Anuboos. These are my companions, Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Waluigi, and Tessa." She pointed to each of them respectively, who all waved and nodded to the man. "What is your name?"

"Cutlass," the alien stated.

"I see," said the woman. "And what brings you here?"

"I..." Cutlass looked dazed. "I'm not sure."

Annabyss paused. "You are not sure?"

"No, ma'am, I'm not."

"Do you remember how you got here?"

"Actually..." Cutlass began to rub at the bloody spot on the back of his head again. "I don't."

Annabyss's quintet of excited teammates seemed to have their cheery moods begin to dwindle. They were staring at the man worriedly.

"Do you remember anything?" Annabyss continued.

"I, uh... I don't."

The silence that had befallen the group was eerie. It was as though someone had just died.

"I see," Annabyss replied grimly.

"All I remember," Cutlass added, "is a bright light. That, and my name. That's it." His fingers strummed the hilt of his sword. "As for how I can wield this sword, I don't know that either. It just comes naturally to me."

"Hmm..." Things remained silent for a moment. Before anyone could become anymore worried, Annabyss started talking again. "We are on a journey to a place called Uaurpe," she said. "If you'd like to come with us, we'd greatly appreciate it. Your strength would very well prove to be quite useful. In return, we will do our best to help you recover your memory."

Cutlass blinked. He wasn't sure of what to make of this offer at first. Glancing to the side, he could see the almost pleading faces of Annabyss's five comrades. The huge one in the furry robe and the folded arms nodded to him. He faced the dark woman once more. It wasn't as though he had anything better in mind. "I'll come."

This seemed to do the trick. Everyone started lightening up once again. Annabyss nodded to their new party member. "Thank you," she said. Cutlass nodded back, but more subtly. "Well, come on. The day is young..."

Thus, the group of six became a group of seven. The lot of them continued marching their ways down the mountain. In addition to this, the other four male members of the clique had resumed crowding around Cutlass with eager looks on their faces.

"So, Cutlass, what was the deal with that bird?" Big Guy asked.

"I'm not sure," said the alien. "It's just territorial, I guess..."

* * *

At that time, Dr. Kamenstein was getting ready to leave once more. His stay at Gana Village was another pleasant one, but it couldn't last forever. Once he got his things back together, he and Christopher's wife began to exchange their goodbyes again. They even hugged each other this time.

"I hope you get your sons back," the woman voiced.

"Thank you, madam," said the doctor. A few minutes later, he was back in his Sky-Pop. Before long, he was in the air once more, waving to the woman he had been staying with this whole time, along with her fellow villagers. It was sad to have to leave again, but the scientist reminded himself that this was just life.

In due time, he was flying over vast collections of trees again, alone with his thoughts. True, he was worried about his creations, but there was one other person he had on his mind. _Storko,_ he thought, _I wonder how you are doing right now..._

* * *

Surely, by now, it was finally miles away from them. Still a bit shaken from the two big injuries it had just received, the giant bird of Belome Rock flew up to its favorite peak and perched itself atop it. Immediately, it started to lick at its wounds. It was getting started on the one in its shoulder when it suddenly noticed it wasn't the only one with wounds. Looking ahead, it could see the spot where it had come across Cutlass for the first time. It was still bleeding. It had been doing so for hours. The meaning of this was unclear. Whatever the case, even in this transformed state of his, Storko could tell one thing: Belome Rock was indeed an interesting place... 


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**  
The Clattagin Woods were a little more lively today. This was due to the fact that, marching through it, were Rudy and the Seven Goofalings. A dear friend of theirs may have passed on recently, but this didn't keep them from trudging along and keeping their eyes peeled for a certain something. Looking left and right, they left no stone unturned, yet they still couldn't find it.

The others were looking a little further ahead, but Katunk had a different area in mind. What caught his interest was something in the middle of all of these weird trees made out of paint: it was a cave sticking out of the ground. However, it was unlike any cave the spiky creature had ever witnessed before, for the insides were all covered in these odd-looking blue stones that, for some reason, kept emitting wisps of steam. Katunk was standing but a few feet from it, and already he was beginning to freeze. Not feeling any need to stare into this cave's darkness any more, the evil clown turned around and started trying to catch up with the rest of the group. They were still searching in desperation...

"Not here," said Groove Guy as he checked a hole in a tree.

"Not there. AAUUGHH!!" said Groovum as he checked a hole in the ground, shortly before being pulled in by something covered in fur and claws.

"Ohh," Night Guy fretted as he looked about with a hand over his eyes. "How are we going to find it? It's hopeless!!"

"It's brown and it has a question mark on it," Taffy Guy said. "Figure it out, dingus."

"We won't find it as long as you people keep acting like such idiots," Har-Harlequin snarled.

"Yeah, think of the mistress," Jester chimed. His female teammate rolled her eyes. Katunk just kept sniffing at the ground. Groovum had succeeded in pulling himself out of the ground, albeit with a bunch of bloody scratches all over him. This was when the search had been interrupted by some high-pitched yelling.

"EVERYONE!!" Rudy crowed. "I did it!! I found the box!!" Acting as though dishes had just been crashed over their heads, the evil clowns all woke up, faced the direction of Rudy's voice, and started running towards it excitedly. Once they caught up with him, they found he was holding dramatically up in the air what was indeed a music box. "At last! We can revive her!!"

"Um, Rudy," Jester interjected.

The smile on Rudy's face vanished. He looked at the masked clown inquisitively. "What is it?"

"It's the wrong music box."

"Huh??" The music box, in actuality, was not brown, and was not something with a question mark on it; in fact, it was more of a white thing with a musical note on it. This definitely wasn't it. "Hm," Rudy said. "So it isn't." The humungous clown tossed the thing behind himself. "Well everyone..." KONK! The small, useless device nailed Groovum right on the head. "Our search continues..." Having gotten that little incident out of the way, the evil clowns spread out once again and resumed their hunt...

* * *

"Well, kiddies," a deranged, Raven-like creature said, "here we are..."

The Three Boombateers had made it to the Forest of Dheos. They had parked their Boomba's Shoe somewhere and were standing around, taking in this new environment. It was all covered in extremely tall trees with trunks of darkly-colored bark. All of them were twisted and bent in some way or another. It made its trio of visitors feel like they were looking at abstract art. What's more is the equally darkly-colored leaves of these trees looked like they were shaped like bat wings. This combined with the steadily reddening of the sky made this entire part of the Clover Kingdom almost seem like it was actually some kind of breeding ground for ghosts.

"Man," Goomba Prince breathed, "this is one creepy place."

"But not as creepy as that," Ren pointed out. He was referring to some strange, high-pitched cackling reverberating throughout the forest. This sent even more chills down Goomba Prince's spine.

"What is that??" the Goomba rasped. He was looking around frantically. The laughter continued, but there didn't seem to be anything in this forest besides a bunch of unsettling trees. While Razule was still looking as disturbingly eager as ever, and while Ren still had that stern look on his face, Goomba Prince was in a panic. Where was it coming from? Then he caught sight of what looked like a big ball of black fur jumping around in the woods. "YIKES!!" the Goomba yelled.

"What's your problem?" Ren grumbled.

"It's... It's..."

WHAM!! "Been a while?" Something big landed right in front of Razule. It scared the daylights out of Goomba Prince, but the other two were hardly phased, Razule especially.

"YYAAAUUGHH!!"

"No need to get your horses all sweaty, Princy," Razule said. "It's just my dad."

Ren looked a bit quizzical. Goomba Prince's jaw dropped. "Y... Your dad??"

"Thaaaat's right!!" The thing that was in front of Razule walked a bit closer in order to make itself more visible to the other two. It was that black fuzzy thing Goomba Prince saw earlier, but, now that it was closer, he could tell it had the same feet, the same beak, and the same eyes as who was supposedly its offspring. Regardless, it still looked like a big puffball. "I'm Razule's old man, Razeil," said the puffball. "What's on your plate?"

"I'm Ren. This is Goomba Prince," the humorless Raven began. "We're waiting for two people to arrive at a place called Clubba Fortress. In the meantime, we're here looking for some weapons."

"Looking to whack the weasels with a few weenies?" said Razeil. Goomba Prince was staring at him in disbelief.

_Is his whole family like this?_ he wondered.

"You bet, dad! It's gonna be great!!" Razule exclaimed. "We're gonna smash'em, and crash'em, and thrash'em! By the way, what keys have you been stroking?"

"Oh, red and blue. You know how it goes. So, you say you're hankering for some army arms?"

"Yup! Know where we can find some?"

"As a matter of fact, I know where you can find NINE of them. I could show you where they're sleeping, but I was hoping I could show you this six-pack I found first. I've been bugging'em all day! They're like wasps in a tin can!"

"Wow! Really? I haven't bugged anyone in days!"

"Son, it's a bug-fest!"

"WOW!!"

Neither Ren nor Goomba Prince could take their eyes off of this father-son bonding. The one with the crown was more confused than the other one. "Ren, would you mind telling me what's going on?" he asked.

"Razule's father wants to show us a group of six people he's been bothering lately just for fun," Ren explained.

"Well then, why doesn't he just say so?!"

"I don't know."

Goomba Prince frowned. _He's so mysterious..._

"Well, guys, why the slug feet?" Razule called. "Come on! Let's go bug some people!!"

"But what about the weapons?" the Goomba of the group objected.

"Weapons later, bugs now!" In the next second, both Razule and the equally eccentric Razeil started bounding off into the forest. Ren was the first to start following. Soon enough, Goomba Prince was doing so as well. Both he and Ren were anxious as to what kind of a group of six this was going to lead to. While bounding off to it, the weirdest two members of the group started talking to each other once more.

"So, Razule, how are the extra eyeballs doing?"

"Great, dad! They smell even better than my feet do now!"

Again, an utterly confused look befell Goomba Prince. _He is REALLY mysterious..._

* * *

Out on the sea, Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian were still drifting their ways towards the Clattagin Woods. Again, the sun was setting and the silence had to be broken. Guido asked the foreman a question. "So, uh, what do you think this backup fortress of the Koopas is gonna be like?"

"Eh," Spike started, "you know. Big place. Full of big, ugly turtles, and stuff. That sort of thing."

"You don't think it'll be that hard to rescue them from them, do you?"

"Of course not," the foreman said, waving a hand dismissively. He pointed a thumb to himself. "I'M here. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Well, um, nothing, I guess, but-"

Foreman Spike started glaring at him. "But what?!"

Guido gulped. "Nothing," he added quickly. Foreman Spike tore his gaze away from him and resumed looking forward with his arms folded. This wasn't necessarily the end of the conversation, though.

"Excuse me," said Oglian. Foreman Spike and Guido tilted their heads towards her. "But I've gotten a bit curious; who was it you said you were going to save, and from whom?"

This seemed to relax the foreman somewhat. "The two new princes of Mario Land, Mario Mario and Luigi Mario," he answered. "We're on a mission to rescue them from some punk named Kamek. He kidnapped'em, sayin' they'd eventually be the downfall of his clan, or something."

"It's not a very friendly world, is it?" Oglian commented.

"No, ma'am."

"You know, I have a great-granddaughter," Oglian began. "Her name is Oglieth. I loved her. Why, just seeing her was enough to brighten my day." The elderly Magikoopa sighed in reminiscence. "However, she eventually got taken away. The two of us were just passing through the city one day, running some errands. We needed some Fire Berries for a potion that prevents nightmares, you know." The woman's face was gradually growing more and more grim. "Then...a strange, giant flying contraption landed in the distance. The next thing we knew, the entire city was under attack by these unworldly people. They kept breaking windows, beating people, and lighting buildings on fire. It was horrible."

The two of Guido and Foreman Spike had been successfully pulled into the story at this point. Guido's face looked a tad worrisome, but, as the less expressive one, Foreman Spike merely continued to sit atop this witch's doll with his arms folded.

Oglian continued. "It wasn't clear what they wanted, but what they were doing was inexcusable. Oglieth was one of the few people that stood up and started fighting these wretched beings. To this day, I've wondered if I should have joined her. For you see, once she defeated a few of them, one of them, a rather rotund, frog-like one, stepped forward and challenged her. Oh, she fought her best, but it was no use. The frog knocked her unconscious, captured her, and ran off with her. I tried to chase after him, but, dash it all, I lost him. Before long, all of these horrible people were gone and their flying machine had taken off. My precious little Oglieth was gone..."

Guido was shocked by the story. It showed in his wide, unblinking eyes. Foreman Spike just started to scratch his chin. "So, there are people out there who'll attack a place and run off with someone for no reason," he commented. "You know, maybe this Kamek guy we're after isn't the worst one out there..."

"Of course, he isn't..."

The somber mood had been broken. All three of Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian looked behind them. Floating in the air was a pair of Heavy Troopas, a red one and a green one. The red one looked a bit angry, but the green one looked even more so. He started talking again.

"Hi there, Foreman Spike," the Tub-O-Troopa said with an edge to his voice. "Remember us?"

"How could I forget something as fat and stupid as you?"

Torb got angered by the foreman's words. He was starting to seethe. Horf, on the other hand, was giggling. "Hee hee... He got you good, Torb," said the idiotic Heavy Troopa.

"He was insulting both of us, you simpleton," Torb corrected.

Horf's eyes became huge. "W-What?!" he blurted. "Why you... That's not nice!! I hate not nice people!!"

"Look," Foreman Spike began, "whatever it is you guys came here for, can you just do it already? We don't exactly have time for your idiocy right now."

"We came here to kill you," Torb stated. "We found out that you knowing of the exact location of Kamek is not a good thing.

"Is that so?" Foreman Spike started standing on top of the hump of Oglian's doll. He withdrew his sledgehammer. "So you guys just want another beating. Is that it?"

"YOU'RE the ones who are going to get a beating!!"

SPLOOSH!! Guido and Oglian both gasped. Instantaneously, the green Heavy Troopa had tackled the foreman, taking them both down into the water. The other giant Para Troopa watched where they disappeared just as the two people on that camel-like doll were. Horf was excited.

"Yeah!! Get'em, Torb! Kick his butt!!"

SPLASH! Torb and Foreman Spike had resurfaced. Their hands were gripping each other's faces and shoulders. One of them turned towards Horf and the other turned towards Guido.

"Guido, don't just stand there!!"

"Horf, don't just stand there!!" Torb and Foreman Spike yelled the next thing in perfect unison. "GET THE OTHER GUY!!"

Horf and Guido saluted their superiors. The short, mustachioed one was about to get out his hammer when WHAM!! He was knocked into the hump behind him. The simple-minded Heavy Troopa had pinned him to it. "Oh, dear," Oglian gasped. For a second time, these two hooligans had come, and she wasn't sure what to do. At least no one was coming to kill her...

Beneath the water, Foreman Spike and Torb were floating around, glaring at each other. Then they started shooting towards one another. BANG! WHAM!! They spun away from each other, clutching at their faces. A blow from a hammer and a punch from a fist didn't please either.

_I won't let this guy get in our way,_ Foreman Spike thought.

_I won't let this guy hurt Kamek,_ Torb thought. Then the two started hurtling themselves towards one another again...

* * *

BBOOOMM!!! An entire tree in the Forest of Dheos had just received a devastating attack. It was strong enough to instantly reduce it to a pile of wood shavings and leaf guts. It took a few seconds for all of it to reach the ground like rain. It was making some very dense steam rise up into the air, but it didn't make much of a difference for the person who did this.

Actually, it was more of a monster. It was human-like, but it was over eight feet tall, it had pale skin, darkly-colored, pointy fingernails, fangs, dark lips, huge, bat-like wings sticking out of its back, and big, pointy ears. Within the area, there were four others just like it, but they were nowhere near as monstrous, for this guy's body was laced with ridiculously huge muscles, especially his right arm, which was noticeably larger than his left. He was so mutated-looking and enormous, he constantly slouched everywhere as though his spine was just as misshapen. His dark hair was tousled, and his face was nightmarishly twisted. To top it all off, he wore a bunch of black, torn-up rags as though he had just escaped from a cage.

"Ggrruuhhh," the creature groaned as it looked at the pile of dust it had created. It scanned the mass of destruction from top to bottom, but it couldn't find what it was looking for. This angered the beast tremendously. "GGRRUUHHH!!!" It slammed its oversized fist directly into the dust. This practically caused a storm of beige dust to go ripping its way through the forest. A good percentage of it splattered on the other strange, humanoid creatures.

"Swampic, my boy," said the short, frail-looking one. "No need to get so angry. We'll find him soon enough." He was a crotchety old man dressed in an expensive robe, gloves, and a top hat, all of which were mostly black. There was a cane in his right hand for his left arm was missing completely. "After all, being angry will get you nowhere..." Suddenly, a few small monkey-like, yet demonic little creatures with black fur and long clawed fingers ran out of nowhere and jumped onto the old man's shoulder, almost forming an arm shape. Then the creatures morphed together and actually became the man's other arm, sleeve and all. "You should be more relaxed like me."

"Relaxed? Hah." This time, the person talking was the beautiful young woman of the group. She wore a tight, black, revealing dress that did a nice job of putting her large breasts on display. Her most unusual feature was the fact that her long black hair hung off of her right shoulder and coiled around the air just to the side of it like a screw. Like the old man in a way, there was no arm there. "Relaxed doesn't even come close. You, Sward, are a lazy bum." A bunch of demonic creatures similar to the old man's sloths flew out of nowhere on feathery wings and turned into the woman's right arm. Her screw-like ponytail was wrapped around it.

"Don't talk like you're so superior, Swan," said the tall one. He leapt down from one of the forest's weird-looking trees like a leapord and landed on the ground in a squatting position. Gradually, he started to stand tall, revealing he was even taller than the monster. "It's not like you've been contributing to the group that much yourself." The woman glared at him. He donned some black dress shoes, black socks, black shorts, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up (it even came with a black tie). With his arms and legs exposed so freely in such a manner, he almost looked like a stretched-out schoolboy. His entire head, though, was completely covered in its long mane of black hair. Not a single trace of his face could be seen. Sticking out of this mound of hair on his shoulders were two large, pointy ears, but that was it. "Let's face it," he said, "if there's anyone who's gonna help us find him, it's me. I'm the best."

"You?" the woman retorted. "As if those wind powers of yours are actually of any use. You're just dreaming, Swoosh."

"What was that, you impudent woman? You have something against me?!"

The obese member of the group watched the argument unfold before him in amusement. He chuckled as he continued to chomp away at his dead rabbit. Each messy bite made his jowl lines flop around as he chewed. The chunky man was completely bald and he dressed in a black mumu like a judge. The fight going on between his female teammate and the tall one made him laugh, but it wasn't necessarily entertaining for everyone.

"I most certainly hope you two aren't fighting again..." All five of the vampire-like creatures stopped and turned their heads towards the source of this voice. It was a number of wisps floating around in the air, each of them being made of some dark purple mist. It all swirled together into one large mass. A 6 ft. tall man with very broad shoulders emerged from it and he floated to the ground.

"Duke Swuke!" the female one uttered.

"Swan, we've been searching for days..." The man's voice was very strong and extremely deep-pitched. It was a nice, rolling voice that seemed to personify steel. "It has indeed been taking a while. We have come across numerous obstacles during our search, none of which have been quite as hindering as your constant bickering."

Swan lowered her head a bit. "I'm sorry..."

Swoosh started chuckling at her. "The same goes to you, Swoosh," the deep-voiced man snapped. This immediately shut him up. Who apparently was the leader of the group didn't even need such a strong voice to keep these people in line. Everything about him practically reeked of authority. He wore black high-heeled boots and a robe with such elegance that rivaled that of the old man's, but he didn't wear gloves like him, so his creepy-looking hands were exposed. He even had a cape.

Another distinguishing feature about him was that his outfit was rimmed here and there with exaggerated edges that looked kind of like they were torn up pieces of clothing, but, mostly, they just looked like extra bat wings. As for his face, it was very gaunt and bony. Both his eyes and his eyebrows were shaped in such a way so that he constantly looked as though he was about to kill someone. His hair was short and it came out in one long lock hanging over his right eye. However, since, oddly enough, his hair was rimmed with hook-shaped bangs, it wasn't as though his right eye had nothing to see out of. There were three similar shapes at the base of his neck in the back. His black goatee wasn't much different.

"Hear me, Swampic, Sward, Swan, Swoosh, Swine..." The monstrous one, the old one, the female one, the tall one, and the fat one all suddenly became more attentive as their names were called out respectively. "If there was ever a time for the six of us to put our quarrels aside and act seriously, it is now. More setbacks are not an option. If we can't find Swoompster, then we won't be able to bring back Count Dheos..."

The other five people all nodded to their strict leader. Afterwards, the group of six continued their search. This was all being spied on by another group of four.

"They're the Swoompires," Razeil squealed. "They just keep walking around this place, looking for their little friend. They're a pony flying a kite!"

"Oh, they do look fuzzy," Razule commented.

Goomba Prince was looking a little worried, but Ren was just looking stern as usual. "Ren?" the Goomba asked. "What are they gonna do?"

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Well, Razule, my boy," Razeil said, "are you ready?"

"I'm feeling the frostbite, dad!!"

"Alrighty then. LET'S GOOO!!" In a flash, the two weird birds were off. Ren and Goomba Prince watched in bewilderment and a little amusement as these two freaks started to wreak havoc.

"What the-" Swoosh started.

"Gruh?"

Razeil had run right into the back of Swoosh's left foot, causing the stretchy man to topple over backwards. His son, Razule, had leapt on top of Swampic's head and started to dance on top of it. This angered the behemoth, so it started to swing its meaty fists at the small creature, roaring in annoyance all the while. All it was able to succeed in doing by this was punching itself in the face and knocking itself out. The four remaining Swoompires started looking around in utter confusion as these two pests continued to mess with them.

"Him again," Duke Swuke growled. "He's brought a friend this time..."

Swine was the next victim. He was about to take another bite of his rabbit when Razeil suddenly snatched it from his hands and threw at the old man's cane. This knocked it from his grasp, knocking the elderly Swoompire to the ground. Razule added insult to injury by starting to do a little jig on the portly one's stomach, making the whole thing slosh around disgustingly. "Wowwee!! This is the best waterbed I've ever been on! Oh wait; it's just a fat guy! HA HA HA!!" Swine snarled. He tried ensnaring the little creature in his claws, but he had escaped just in time.

"You little punks," Swan seethed. She was in the middle of raising her hands as though about to cast some type of spell when the unthinkable happened.

"BOOOOMBS AAWWAAAYYY!!!" Razeil went somersaulting through the air. His constant spinning stopped once his head landed, of all places, right between Swan's breasts. Razule thought the horrified look on her face was priceless. Ren and Goomba Prince seemed to think so, too.

"COME ON, RENNY BOY, PRINCY!!" the little raven-like man called. "JOIN THE FU-"

Foom. Before he could finish, the four of him, his father, and his two companions had been caught in a pair of long, ghostly tentacles. Both were made of purple mist. In this trapped state, the mischievous quartet started floating right in front of the duke's face. His arms had transformed into this stuff in order to make this possible. This time, his face looked as though he was about to kill TEN people. The four small people he captured gulped at the sight.

"You have meddled in our affairs for the last time," the duke growled. "Be gone from my sight!!"

Duke Swuke extended the length of his tentacle arms. He reared them back like a giant slingshot and fired in a gigantic snap. The five conscious Swoompires watched as these four nuisances flew away, screaming and fading into the red sky.

The area was quiet once again. Duke Swuke's arms returned to normal. He faced the group once more. "No more setbacks," he said. "We continue our search..." The six Swoompires did just that...

* * *

Foreman Spike glared fiercely at his green-shelled opponent. With much difficulty, he held up his sledgehammer, ready to strike. In the next second, Torb started rocketing towards him like a torpedo with its fist out. Once the two came close enough, the foreman panicked, not sure whether to dodge or attack. He did neither. POOMF! The shades-wearing man got the wind knocked out of him. A bunch of bubbles burst forth from his mouth as he loosened the grip on his hammer. Fighting underwater was a lot tougher than he thought.

He needed air and quickly. He started swimming towards the surface frantically. SPLOOSH! The foreman broke through the water and flung his head back as he inhaled deeply. He started panting for a bit when he suddenly realized his hammer was gone. Being stricken with panic once again, he was about to go after it when WHAM! The green Para Troopa suddenly tackled him from below. Soon, the two were flying through the air, sopping wet, with one of them having his neck caught in the other's arms...

Guido, on the other hand, was still struggling to get Horf off of him. Over the humungous turtle's shoulder, he could see the two green-clad participants of this battle duking it out with each other in the air. Silently, the lesser Mario Land resident prayed for his superior's victory.

"And just what...do you hope to do?" Foreman Spike choked as he tried to wrestle Torb's arms away from him.

"I'm gonna take a dive," Torb explained, "but you're goin' first. The impact will be so hard, your neck will snap."

"Not...likely..." Foreman Spike grinned. "You're...gonna help me get my hammer!!"

"What?!"

Torb didn't see this next one coming. Foreman Spike had just thrust his head forward and clamped his teeth down hard upon Torb's arm. The sudden attack startled the Tub-O-Troopa so badly, he instantly lightened his grip on his adversary, causing him to fall from his grasp. The foreman would have taken this fall had he not have grabbed a hold of the tortoise's tail just in time. The unexpected yanking of such a body part was another assault that got Torb to start burning in pain. Using his immense strength, the foreman utilized this beast's tail as theough it were a rope so he could swing himself onto the back of his shell. Now Torb was angered and confused.

"What are you doing?!" he yelled.

"Time to get my hammer," Spike snickered. CRACK!! He grabbed a hold of both of the Para Troopa's wings and bent them the wrong way really fast. Torb started screaming in pure pain. The two of him and his assailant started plummeting back towards the ocean...

Meanwhile, Guido had just succeeded in slamming his challenger in the shoulder with his hammer, thus causing him to get knocked onto the back hump of Oglian's doll. Horf grabbed the sore spot and winced. Then he heard the screaming of his partner behind him. He turned around and gasped. That Foreman Spike guy had him by the wings, and they were dropping fast. "TOOORRBB!!" the simple-minded Heavy Troopa yelled. It cost him. ZZAAAAPP!! Guido had just jumped onto his back and drilled one of his of orbs of electricity into the turtle's head. The voltage shook it so violently that, when the attack was over, his eyes had rolled up into his head and smoke started coming out of his mouth.

SPLOOSH! Horf had been defeated. He was lying on his stomach like a crocodile on the water. Torb was severely displeased by the sight, but Foreman Spike smirked at it. _Good job, Guido,_ he thought. _Now on to this punk..._

FWWOOOSHH!! Foreman Spike and Torb had taken the plunge. It didn't break anyone's neck, but it still consisted of one person being forced deep into the water with his wings confined. He wondered how long he was gonna last.

_Don't worry,_ Spike thought with puffed-out cheeks. _Maybe if I find my hammer early, I won't let you drown..._

But he DID find it early. It wasn't because of shallow waters, though; it was because the very weapon itself was hanging out of some gigantic creature's mouth. It had a round head and a long, segmented body like a dragon. Beneath all this water, its actual form was too shadowy to make out, but the foreman didn't care. He kicked himself off of his opponent's back, floated towards the creature's head, and kicked it right in its eye. The thing roared violently. It didn't take long to decide on what it's next meal was going to be. It started gliding towards Foreman Spike, and then WHAMM!! The gigantic creature got it right in the chin with something extremely heavy and blunt. As it was spinning around beneath these waves, it caught a glimpse of the foreman with the hammer back in his hands. As quickly as it did before, it made its next decision: it was way out of its league. The giant creature, whatever it was, swam away.

Foreman Spike smirked to himself. With this having been taken care of, it was finally time for him to surface once more.

FWOOSH!! Once he splashed his way out and started breathing again, he noticed two giant Heavy Troopa bodies floating past him. One of them was red and on his stomach. The other was green and on his back. The foreman watched them drift into the distance. A smile of satisfaction befell his face.

Spike swam his way back to the oga doll. Guido helped him back onto it. "That was great, Foreman Spike!" said the lesser soldier.

"Yeah, I know," Spike gloated. "Now let's get out of here before something else comes our way." Guido started to nod. He was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound. The trio at sea looked around in wonder.

"What's going on?!" Guido said. The water around them was starting to ripple like crazy. Looking over the edge, Foreman Spike and Guido could see how there seemed to be some fish rising towards them. Actually, there was a LOT of fish.

"What in-" Foreman Spike started. Then there was a FWOOSSHH!! The trio and their giant doll were suddenly floating in the air. A huge pile of fish was right beneath them, all of them flopping around and gasping in desperation. They were in a large net and being raised into the air.

"Oglian?!" Foreman Spike spat. "What is this?!"

"I'm sorry," the woman replied. "In the confusion of the battle, I must have gotten us into this."

"Oh, this is just PERFECT!!" Once the net was a considerable amount of feet away from the water, it stopped its upward movement and began to swing to one side. The next thing these people knew, the net had snapped open, spilling out all of its contents onto a ship's deck, surprising them greatly. Once they clambered back onto their feet while struggling to stand on top of a bunch of slimy fish, they got to find out exactly what kind of ship this was. SHING!! They were instantly surrounded by a bunch of sharp spears, all of them pointed towards their necks. "Lovely," Spike grumbled.

The spears were all being held by a bunch of tiny Goomba-like creatures. Backing them up were other such creatures, like some Goomba-like creatures with pointy ears and some humanoid ducks wielding some boomerangs. Behind them all and near the quarters of the ship were a group of eight people. They consisted of a spiky Koopa Troopa, a minotaur, a penguin with boxing gloves, a floating head, a giant, vulture-like bird, a ghost, and two girls, both of which were donned in green outfits, long, black hair, and red bandannas. The huge difference between the two was that one of them was a young woman whereas the other one looked barely older than three.

"What are those people doing here, Sugar?" the little one said, picking her nose.

"Who knows," said the older one, "but they should know that whatever lands on this ship, stays on this ship." The young woman took a few steps forward, grabbing the three captives' attention as she did so. "Listen up, scumbags," she announced, "the name's Sugar--CAPTAIN Sugar--and this is my sister, Syrup." The little girl waved to the newly captured trio with a look of mischief on her face. "We are the White Sugar Pirates. Perhaps you've heard of us and our mother, Capt. Spatula?"

No one said anything, save for Foreman Spike, but all he did was snort. The woman named Capt. Sugar ignored him.

"She may no longer be with us, but that doesn't mean we've lost our image as some of the nastiest pirates the world has ever known!!" The woman unsheathed a sword and pointed it to one of the doors behind her. "Throw them in the brig with the other one," she ordered. "We'll have fun with them later. Heh heh heh..."

The other pirates started chortling along with her as various feathery, yet strong arms began to grab Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian from behind. _Why me, oh lord?_ the foreman thought darkly as he and his two companions started being dragged into the dungeon of these foul people...

* * *

Hanging in the most awkward of positions from a few branches were none other than the Three Boombateers and their latest companion, Razeil. The four of them gradually shook themselves into consciousness, still a bit disoriented from their previous encounter with the six Swoompires.

"Well," Ren muttered, "that certainly was...interesting."

"Ugh, never again," Goomba Prince groaned.

"Everyone peachy keen?!" Razule called. Ren and Goomba Prince grumbled a bit in response. In the next few seconds, the quartet had triumphed in getting themselves to start standing upright again. Razeil was looking a bit sheepish.

"Um, yeah," he said, "about that Duke Swuke guy... He's pretty dang strong. Guess I should've mentioned that sooner, huh?"

"DUH!!" Ren and Goomba Prince yelled simultaneously.

"Well, the cats are stripy, and the balls are round," Razeil said, although Goomba Prince had no clue what he meant by that. "So, you guys say you want some weapons, correct?" The Three Boombateers all said yes in their own way. "Well, come along." The strange Raven turned around and began to hop his way through the numerous tree branches of the forest. "I know EXACTLY where to go. You'll love these things, I promise you that..."

Ren, Razule, and Goomba Prince were following him shortly afterwards. During this, again, the Goomba of the group was left to his dark thoughts. _Let's just hope this won't require more "bugging" people..._

* * *

CLANG! The Dangerous Ducks had done their work quickly. In no time at all, they had gotten the three of Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian behind bars. They were chuckling sadistically and wiping the dirt from their hands as they walked away into the darkness. "You'd best say your prayers," they heard one of the ducks say, "'cause once the games begin, your luck'll have run out..."

Foreman Spike glared hatefully at the feathered pirates walking away with his hands gripped tightly around the bars. Guido and Oglian were right behind them, looking worried. "Bunch of cretins," Spike growled. "What'd we do to them, anyway?!"

"So, what do we do now, sir?" Guido inquired.

"What CAN we do?!" the foreman griped. He slid his fingers away from the rusty bars and began to pace about the cell. "We might as well just rot down here until their sick, twisted games begin...whatever they are..."

"Hah! Join the club!!" The three new prisoners turned around and looked in the corner. Sitting there was a small, dwarfish, vampire-like creature in a tuxedo. He had neatly combed hair, a black cape, and a cheerful look on his face. "If you want to take on the world, you gotta accept the fact that it's got fangs. It's life."

"Who are you?" Foreman Spike drawled.

"Me?" The creature gave off a mysterious smirk. "I'm Swoompster, the Swoompire of Greed..."

* * *

Back in Monet's Mansion, Kamek was strolling down a hallway, taking his time and enjoying himself. This was due to the fact the walls of this place were all covered in countless paintings, each one extremely different from the last. One of them was a picture of a man's face melting, revealing his skull, his brains, and other such inner body parts in the process. One of them showed a flower made of metal, complete with a surface reflecting the image of an entire field of real flowers, each of them twisted in the most odd of ways by the shape of the metal one. One of them showed a ridiculously huge, ghostly hand sweeping its way across what looked like a solar system. All four of its fingers were touching different planets. Its thumb was touching the sun at the center of this collection of celestial bodies. All five of the huge, round things were blue and covered in ice. The extra details of this painting even showed wisps of freezing cold steam swirling around them. It all was found extremely fascinating by the blue Magikoopa.

"Like'em?" The stately sorceror jolted. He looked to his left to notice it was only Doppel. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, they're very nice," the reptilian wizard stated. "I suspect they were each made out of a great deal of inspiration."

"Well, not really," the ghost answered. "Whenever I paint these things, I hardly ever have a real picture in mind. I just pick up a brush and let my hands do all the work. I find one can get more interesting results that way."

"I see," Kamek replied, "but surely your hands weren't ENTIRELY responsible."

"No, they weren't," Doppel admitted. "In fact, I sometimes wonder about these things myself." The ghostly man pointed to the painting of the man's melting face. "I think this one represents my feeling that only when tortured properly do people truly begin to show what's inside of them." He pointed to the one of the strange flower. "And I think this one represents how there are numerous things out there that can be reflected in something else, but their images are distorted differently depending on who or what's reflecting them and how."

Kamek nodded. He pointed one clawed finger to the painting next to the last one Doppel explained. "And this one?"

"That one?" It was the picture of the frozen planets. "I think that one's more of a sneaking suspicion of mine than an observation..."

"Yes?"

"I think," the artist began, "it means I get the feeling that the universe is so vast, there's no telling exactly what's out there. In fact, somewhere out there, there could even be someone or something that's just downright unthinkable. Someday, it could come sweeping its way into our friendly little neck of the cosmos and BAM." Doppel made a flicking movement with his fingers in front of the picture as though he just sprinkled some powder on it. "Something like this happens."

"Interesting..." Things became silent for a moment as the two continued to gaze at this painting, or so it seemed. The next thing Kamek knew, he was in the jungle again. Those two banana-eating apes were back in front of him.

"After all," he heard one of them say, "we're the guardians of Donkey Kong Island..."

In a flash it was gone. Doppel was right next to the Magikoopa again. He was waving one of his pale green hands in front of his eyes. "Kamek? Yoo-hoooo! Kamek?"

"I'm fine, Doppel," Kamek said, putting his hand on the ghost's wrist and putting it down. "It's just..." The Magikoopa tilted his head upward in deep speculation. "I may have just uncovered something very important..."


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**  
The sky was dark and full of stars. Silicon was at the bottom of the hill. All a certain man and his angry mob of strange creatures had to do was descend it and attack. "Interesting place," the leader said to himself. "Who'd have thought I'd find it on the way to Belome Rock?..." He turned around and faced the army behind him. He swung one arm in the direction of the peaceful village. "ATTAAAAACCKK!!" Immediately, the ruthless beings charged down the hill and entered the town in the most violent way possible...

Inside the inn, Pixel was cleaning off the tables of the dining room, humming a tune to herself. Nothing could have prepared her for what happened in the next instant. CRASSHH!! She jolted her head to the right. One of the windows had been broken. What had been thrown through it managed to tip over a good few tables and chairs upon landing. It was the girl's brother, Ion. She gasped, ran up to him, and started helping him up. "Ion!! Are you alright? What happened?"

"A bunch of bug things are attacking the village," he quickly explained. He was standing again, wiping blood from his forehead. "Find mom. Make sure she's safe."

"Ri-"

KSH! KRSH! CRASH!! Three more windows had broken. This time, it was due to the fact that three of these bug things had just leapt into the vicinity. Pixel got a good look for herself what these things looked like. They looked like vaguely humanoid ants with three-fingered hands, samurai-like suits of armor, and big battle axes. Oddly enough, Pixel noticed there wasn't a single difference to make out between any of them. They were perfectly identical down to the last skin cell.

The three of them held up their weapons and began to advance on the girl's sibling. Ion took on a fighting stance of sorts. "Go," he said to Pixel. He clasped his hands together and pulled them widely apart. Somehow, this caused his fingertips to suddenly be connected by five long metal, guitar-like strings. "I'll handle these brutes." Pixel nodded her head and began to run upstairs. This left the boy alone with three of the village's new adversaries. "Come on," he taunted.

One of the bug creatures leapt towards him with its axe reared back, ready to hack something to pieces. Ion let him sail towards him. TWANG!! He ducked as he caught the insect's face between his strings. The scraping metal began to make the fiend's face even more contorted. Ion stood up, carrying the bug with him on this net of strings he had made (they had somehow elongated). Combined with the bug at the end of them, the male Pixie had managed to make a makeshift ball'n'chain out of his strings. He used it against the next ugly thug that decided to come his way. WHAM!! He swung it hard against him. Soon enough, the strings had mysteriously disappeared and both ants were flying out the window from whence they came. When Ion looked for the third one, he cursed to himself upon finding out where it was going: up the stairs. He began to chase after it.

_Damn it,_ he thought with his teeth clenched. _We could really use some reinforcements right about now..._

* * *

The seven of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Cutlass, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss were almost at the bottom of Belome Rock. They just had a bit more of the road to walk down. During this, Big Guy and Laser Snifit were engaged in conversation once more.

"Which just goes to show you that, if you want to get by in life, muscles are the way to go!" one of them was saying while showing off a bulge in one of his arms.

His shorter companion scoffed. "You're only fooling yourself, Big Guy," Laser Snifit said. "What good are muscles when you don't have the brains to back them up?"

"Heyyy," Big Guy exclaimed, "are you saying I'm dumb?!"

"I'm not saying you're dumb," the grey 8-Bit said, "I'm saying muscles alone will only get you so far ahead."

"Fart head?!" Big Guy fumed. "You wanna start somethin'?!"

"I'm not trying to insult you, you moron!!"

In front of the rest of the group, Cutlass was ignoring the inane bickering that was going on between two of his teammates. He turned to his new leader and asked her something. "So, Annabyss... How much longer until we reach Uaurpe?"

"Well," the woman started, "a few days, I suppose. We'll have about three or four towns to pass through in the meantime, by my estimate."

"Towns, huh?"

"Yes," Annabyss replied. "For instance, the one at the bottom of this mountain, Steen Stream, named for the Steens that inhabit it." At this point, Big Guy and Laser Snifit had commenced kicking clouds of dirt in each other's faces out of their annoyance for one another. "At the moment," Annabyss continued, "it's under attack..."

The group had reached the bottom of the mountain. They immediately realized what their leader meant. Even Big Guy and Laser Snifit stopped what they were doing in order to take a look for themselves. Not too far away from them was an entire town built right inside of a miniature river of some sort. Its houses of bamboo and sticks did a nice job of standing up in the water, but there were numerous little gremlin-like monsters hopping through each of them, tearing them all apart and causing various small people to start running and screaming.

"What's going on?" Tessa fretted as she took in the horror of the situation. That was when Annabyss heard it: a high-pitched laugh of utter insanity echoing across the valley. Listening closely, she could make out what it was saying.

"Insolent fools!! It is pointless to run..."

The shadowy woman scowled. She recognized that voice. "Larva," she growled. "So you're still alive..."

Five of her comrades gasped. Cutlass just looked confused. "Larva?" he said. "Who's that?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, we've got work to do." The other five people nodded and got themselves ready for battle. Cutlass was the last to do so. In the next instant, the seven-some was off. Their second ever encounter with the Mistress of Wigglers was about to begin...

* * *

Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif couldn't believe their eyes. Not only had Belome led them back to Silicon, but he had also unleashed a very strange army upon it. A drop of sweat rolled down Davey's temple as he took a good look at it. If he didn't know any better, he'd say each of those soldiers looked exactly like...

"...Chogun??"

"I highly doubt any one of them's the real Chogun," White Rose said to Davey. This complemented how all the bug things kept breaking people's windows, beating people up, knocking them out, and even running off with their unconscious bodies. "Something tells me there's more to this than what meets the eye..."

"Indeed," Leif quipped. He withdrew his trademark mace. "I suggest we get to the bottom of this."

"I concur," the knight said. Davey watched as White Rose took out his sword and as Xoshi put his fists up. A second later, the boy caught on and took out his gun.

"Alright," Davey stated. "Let's do this!" The other three agreed. After that, the quartet started running down the hill, right into battle...

Once they reached the bottom of the hill, they were running down the streets of Silicon and between all of its houses. Some of the Chogun look-alikes that weren't already looting some of these homes spotted the newly arrived four-some, and started charging towards them. Davey went wide-eyed and swallowed hard once this happened. He probably would have gotten hurt had his three partners not have leapt towards the oncoming pests just in time. SHING! BANG! FWOOSH! Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif landed in dramatic fighting stances. One of the fake Choguns got sliced in two, another got its face pounded into the ground, and another was sent flying sky-high with a big shiny golden star lodged in its chest. Davey's jaw hit the floor at the sight. His three companions turned and looked at him.

"Davey," White Rose said, "I know how you feel, but you mustn't let your emotions control you. These are not the real Chogun!!"

Davey was about to nod. He stopped once the group heard a voice ahead of them that was familiar-sounding and goofy, yet spiteful. "Of course they're not Choguns; they're my latest creation... Shoguns!!"

The group looked ahead. It was none other than the man they had been chasing down: Belome. Davey's raging hatred for the monster was born again. "YOU!!" he yelled. "What have you done to Chogun!?"

"The guy who tasted bug-tastic? I made clones out of him! Did you know that I can make clones out of whoever I taste? Allow me to demonstrate!!" Belome lunged towards the boy with his tongue flopping around like crazy. Davey thought fast and whalloped the beast with a front kick right in the center of his tongue. This sent him flipping through the air. He landed with a CRASH, resulting in his face getting stuck in the outside wall of someone's house. Davey was going to run towards him in order to start beating some more of the stuffing out of him, but then one of the Chogun clones ran up to its dog-like master, carrying a screaming female Pixie with it. The four-eyed beast popped out of the wall and looked at the damsel in distress hungrily. He was starting to drool again. "Oh, goodie! My next meal!"

The woman shrieked. Before Belome could grab her though, two explosions erupted, sending Belome flying backwards and reducing the Chogun clone to dust. The woman fell to the ground as Davey put away his laser pistol and his wand, taking note of how time energy proved to be quite effective against these bugs. The boy who had just used two weapons at once in order to save this woman ran up to her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes. Thank you," she replied, letting herself be helped up by the young man. She was almost all the way up again when she heard something extremely unpleasant.

"MY... NEXT... MEAL!!"

The woman screamed and ran off, breaking away from Davey's grasp. The boy got mad. He jumped at the deranged canine, grabbed him by his shoulders, and knocked him to the ground, pinning him to it. While the peckish monster struggled to break free of this boy's hold, Davey addressed his three party members. "Well, don't just stand there! Get the other ones! I think this sicko wants to eat all the people here!!"

Remembering the woman Davey had just saved combined with the thought of who here could possibly get eaten next made Xoshi snap awake. "PIXEL!!" Hurriedly, the brown Yo'ster ran off, leaving Davey, White Rose, and Leif alone with Belome. At this point, the monstrous dog had succeeded in flipping himself over and switching who was pinning down who. Davey got even more mad.

"C'mon!! Get going!!" he yelled. Immediately, White Rose and Leif saluted him and ran off in different directions. Now it was just the boy and his dog. "We won't let you get away THIS time, Belome!!"

"But I'm... really... HUNGRY!!" The two bitter enemies snarled at each other and continued to fight each other over the fate of Silicon and the real Chogun...

* * *

Windows were being destroyed, roofs were being damaged, and people were getting rows of bleeding wounds clamped into them. Four of the Steens of Steen Stream cowered behind the corner of one of these buildings and watched the mayhem unfold before them.

"Why?" one of them said. "Why would Fuzzipedes do this?"

"What did we do to them?"

"What are we going to do, elder?"

"I don't know," the leader of the bunch said. "All we can do now is pray..."

Standing high atop one of the roofs of this village was none other than the culprit of this act of chaos: Larva, Mistress of Wigglers. She grinned at the destruction going on below her. "That's it, my servants," she purred. "Destroy everything in your path! Leave no survivors..."

"Sorry, Larvie..." A voice called out from behind, but the Wiggler-summoner didn't budge. "But I'm afraid the only victim of THIS operation will be you." Larva smiled. What she had just heard was surely the voice of a certain muscleman she had encountered previously, which could only mean one thing.

The fancily dressed woman turned around, looking smug. Her six least favorite people were right there as expected, but they seemed to have one more with them this time. It didn't matter to her. "So, shape shifter, we meet again," Larva said, addressing the group's leader.

"The name is Annabyss," the shadowy woman growled.

Larva smirked. "Well then, Annabyss..." The immoral sorceress closed her eyes and swept a hand through her red hair. She opened her eyes to stare at the shape shifter, mischievously. "I was hoping something would make you come here. I had a feeling your unquenchable sense of justice would do the trick..."

Annabyss narrowed her eyes at the enemy woman. "So it's revenge you want? Revenge for what we did to that madman of a partner in crime of yours?"

"General Wind-up?" Larva scoffed. Her facial expression changed to one of disgust and murderousness. "Just so you know, I feel nothing for that man's death. What you took away from me is not a friend or even a comrade; it was power... The power to take this world head on, to make it bow to me, and to demolish anything that got in my way!!" Annabyss's six teammates began to stare at Larva as though there were warts sprouting all over her body. The woman ignored them and went on with her speech. "But you... You ruined everything..."

The vengeful woman began to raise her arms before her, making claws out of their open palms. For some reason, once she did this, all the Fuzzipedes attacking the village instantly stopped what they were doing. It was almost as though they had just heard a whistle that only they could hear. This was very confusing to the Steens. Larva made her next move.

"AND I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THAT!!!" She swung her arms forward and FFOOOOOOMMM!! A tidal wave of black, furry things flew out of nowhere and plowed right into the woman's seven adversaries. She stared at where they had disappeared, knowing full well that all that teeth must have torn them all to pieces by now. Once the swarm of angry Fuzzipedes had faded away, she could see the fruits of her labors. Only three were still standing on the roof: the big one, the new one, and Annabyss. Larva put her arms down and cocked one eyebrow at the trio with a mildly amused look on her face. "So you're the strongest ones? This should be interesting..." She held her hands out and made six pillars of blue fire burst out of them.

Big Guy had his trusty club out, but he was looking worried. "Annie?!" he panicked. "What happened to-"

"-Go and look for them, Big Guy," Annabyss interjected. "Cutlass and I will deal with this woman."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!!" Big Guy instantly turned tail and fled. He jumped off the roof and commenced running around in search of his friends. This left only three people on the roof. Cutlass had his sword in hand. Annabyss said something to him in private.

"Don't hold back," she told him. "I couldn't take her alone the last time we fought, but, with you here, it just might be possible."

"Yes," Cutlass replied.

Larva stared at her two opponents while chuckling to herself. They seemed to be surprised she wasn't foaming at the mouth. Her laughter came to an abrupt end. She glared at Annabyss and Cutlass with burning eyes. "I swear, I will kill you..." FWOOOSSHH!! In the blink of an eye, the shape shifter and the swordsman were surrounded by a web of blue flames. With two people dodging and fighting for their lives on this infernal roof, the next battle between justice and immorality had begun...

* * *

A swing to the left, and one of the Shoguns got his skull to cave in from the right. A swing to the left, and the same thing happened to a different one, but from the left. With his mace in hand, Leif quickly spun around and punted another Shogun coming at him right in the chin. The unnatural creature fell back, and the Viking moved on with some of the others. Ten more were headed his way. He was ready for them...

White Rose was holding out just as nicely. In just a few seconds, he had managed to chop an arm off of one Shogun, a leg off another, and the head off another. Three of them tried flying at him at once, but he was able to chop all three of them in half with one sweep of his sword. He saw a bunch more wanting a piece of him, and he prepared himself...

Meanwhile, Xoshi was running around frantically through their favorite inn. He burst through the front doors, looked around at the waste that had been laid to the dining room, thought of the worst, and made his way up the stairs. Remembering what Pixel had told him, he found the right door and kicked his way in. What he found wasn't pretty. It was both Eon and Ion lying on the floor with bloody spots all over them. The girl he was looking for was being backed into a corner by one particular Shogun. Xoshi could see that the thing was struggling its way through a web of metal strings that appeared to be coming out of the fingertips of the young female Pixie. For a second, it looked as though she had a chance. Then the ant-like monster suddenly broke his main arm free and started using it to hack away at the metal strings binding it. Pixel gasped as the strings that were originally around the Shogun instantly zipped their ways back into her fingertips and disappeared. A look of horror befell her face as the approaching Shogun raised its axe.

That was when Xoshi decided he had seen enough. He ran up to the Shogun, grabbed its axe while it was still clutching at it with both hands, and used it as a makeshift handle in order to swing the pest over his hand and send him crashing to the ground. The brown Yo'ster stared at its unmoving body for a second or two. He heard Pixel starting to crawl towards him. He turned around and faced her. There was a weak smile on her face.

"Xoshi," she said, "you sa-"

Then CRASH!! About six or seven other Shoguns suddenly burst through the window and started dogpiling the desperate woman. The minute Xoshi saw this, he let go of his hold on the axe, allowing it to drop to the floor. His eyes lit on fire and became a pair of multi-colored flames...

Outside, Davey and Belome were back on their feet. They were both panting and covered in bruises. In the next second, Davey had his wand ready once more. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. ZING! ZING! ZING! The boy had to start dancing like crazy for his life, if not his consciousness. Belome was using his Aurora Flash attack on him again, this time making laser beams of blue light rain down from above. Each one was a bullet that could have easily determined the outcome of this battle. After that last attack, Belome put his arms down and addressed the boy.

"C'mon, little boy, do you seriously believe you can beat me?"

"You won't be saying that," Davey wheezed, "once I have you begging for mercy!!" The two combatants quit talking and got back to fighting. It was going to be a long night for Silicon...

* * *

In order to dodge the barrage of flames, Annabyss had turned herself into a monkey while Cutlass was merely using his flexibility. Each jump and swerving movement brought the two of them closer to their female enemy. Once she was but inches away, Cutlass pulled his sword back and Annabyss turned into a lion with one of its humungous paws out. Larva smirked.

Cutlass and Annabyss could suddenly feel some sharp pains in their necks. Annabyss reverted back to her original form and Cutlass dropped his sword. They were reeling in agony, clutching at their necks. After a while, they were finally able to rid themselves of the pain. They managed to tear off a pair of Fuzzipedes and toss them over the roof. They glared at Larva who just laughed at them. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she said. "They obey my EVERY command..." The woman's two adversaries ignored her. Cutlass got his sword back in his hand and Annabyss turned into a rhino. They went charging towards the woman once more...

Meanwhile, Big Guy was still in the midst of looking for his friends. His frantic search had led him to believe they were no longer in Steen Stream, so he began to search on land. After running around a bit, he was able to find them. He gasped at the sight. All four of them were on the ground, trying to get a whole swarm of Fuzzipedes to quit biting away at them. Big Guy got mad. He pulled out his club and ran into the fray. It took him about twenty swings more or less, but he eventually pulled it off. He began helping them all up. Both Laser Snifit and Tessa said, "Thanks, Big Guy."

"Don't mention it," he replied. He spun around and swung his club forward almost as though it were a baton. "Alright, now let's go! Cutlass and Annabyss need our help!!"

"YEAH!!" the others yelled. Once their gigantic teammate took off, they began to give chase. Unfortunately, they couldn't get very far. An angry mob of Fuzzipedes had suddenly hopped right in front of them, all of them snarling and gnashing their teeth. The opposing team rushed right towards them.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!!" Big Guy yelled. A huge battle broke out between the two groups. It had one of them punching, kicking, and firing lasers relentlessly for the sake of what was right. They weren't going to let Larva get away this time...

* * *

TSEW! TSEW! TSEW! Davey was making Belome dance. The dog-like creature worked furiously to make his legs hop from left to right in order to dodge each of the strange glowing projectiles. Then FWOOSH! The boy fired a big one. Belome bent his body bending way back the other way like in a game of limbo to dodge. The giant orb of dark energy sailed over his face. Davey was running towards him. The shrunken man leapt forward with his arms out as though he were about to pin someone down, but Belome knew better. WHAP! One of his bear-like arms got him in the gut in the nick of time. The boy went sprawling across the grass, all the while clutching at his stomach, wincing and groaning in pain. The monstrous dog got off the ground and approached the winded boy.

"I'm telling you," said the canine, "it's useless! No matter what you or your friends do, I will win this battle! I'll be treating myself to fried Pixies of all shapes and sauces for weeks on end! Hee hee hee!!"

Davey forcefully pried one eyeball open to glare at the beast. He just barely managed to rasp out a retort. "Oh, yeah?!..."

At the moment, in three different places at once, Davey's partners had more than enough problems on their hands. White Rose was surrounded by about ten Shoguns, Leif was surrounded by about ten more, and Xoshi could see another whole bunch simultaneously attacking the Pixie he cared about most. Once the Shoguns began to advance on White Rose and Leif, they did what was just about the same thing Xoshi did, and Belome was about to see the results of their efforts.

He laughed at the boy's last comment. "C'mon," he taunted, "what are they gonna do?"

Then three extremely unpleasant sounds tore their ways into the four-eyed monster's ears. It was the sound of fire burning, necks cracking, and even meteorites soaring through the air. Both White Rose and Leif had whipped out their wands. The white-clad knight had sent a wave of flames ripping through his enemies, burning them all to a crisp. The aquatic Viking had made a number of thorn-covered vines pop out of the ground behind each of his assailants. With a little help from the magic wand's powers, he was able to elongate each of these strange plants, make them grab the necks of each of the Shoguns, and give them each a good twist. Belome had instantly lost a good portion of his forces, and it didn't stop there.

Looking at the inn in the distance, he could see a massive amount of Shoguns flying out the window, each of them with these oversized, sparkling, star-shaped fragments of gold energy lodged in their chests and, in some cases even, in their necks. Belome watched in pure shock as all of his handy soldiers were sent to the ground, not a single one of them continuing to move anymore. It all made the foul mastermind behind this attack begin to question the real state of the situation.

Davey smirked. "Well, Belome?" He got back on his feet and pointed his wand at the dog. "Give up?" The food-crazed beast looked around. He noticed how White Rose and Leif were nearby, pointing their wands at him as well. The meal-loving freak of nature became shifty-eyed as he plotted his next move...

Back in Pixel's room, Xoshi was panting up a storm. Golden glitter was still falling from his fingertips. Pixel slowly got her battered body off the floor. She stood and faced Xoshi. She swept one hand through her messed up hair and laughed once. Xoshi's mouth creeped into a smile. His breathing barely started to sound like chuckling. Then it stopped. Pixel gasped at two different things at once. The first of which being the sound of some very loud yelling reverberating its way throughout the village for all to hear.

"SSHHOOOOGGUUUNNSS!! RETRREEAAATT!!"

The second of which being how, at the same time Belome started yelling, the Shogun that Xoshi had knocked aside earlier had gotten back on its feet with a broken piece of wood in its hand in order to swing at the side of the brown reptile's head. As a result, WHAM!! Xoshi's eyes rolled into his head and he crumpled to the floor in a heap. Pixel slapped two hands over her mouth as she watched this with wide open eyes. Meanwhile, the Shogun who did this was making his escape by jumping out the window.

Outside, Belome and the few surviving members of his Shoguns were running their way through the houses of Silicon and into the woods beyond it. The giant stuffed doll of the group was thinking to himself as he made his getaway. _Okay, so the raid on Silicon didn't work out,_ the beast thought, _but Belome Rock will be mine... All mine!..._

Davey, White Rose, and Leif were standing in the middle of the village with their wands out. They were panting and staring at where their enemies had run off to. The next thing they knew, a bunch of people were running towards them from nowhere. One of them was a female face Davey recognized fairly well...

As for Xoshi, Pixel was holding his head in his lap, a frightened look on her face. The Yo'ster was slowly slipping away. He could faintly hear yelling and cheering going on outside. In the midst of it all, he could also make out Pixel's sweet voice calling out to him. He tried pinpointing its exact location, but then everything became muffled. The brown Yo'ster blacked out...

* * *

Larva stared Cutlass down. She didn't know who he was or what exactly the connection was between him and Annabyss, but he was evidently in cahoots with her. At this point, she had managed to throw the sorceress of the group off the roof, so it was just her and this silver man fighting now. He stared back. His sword was drawn, and the Mistress of Wigglers was about to put his skills with it to the test.

One of her hands flew out. An orb of blue fire shot out of it and headed towards the silver alien. CHING! He deflected it with the side of his blade. Larva smirked and threw him another one. CHING! That one became deflected as well. Larva grinned. CHING! CHING! CHING! This time, she had Cutlass making that sword dance like crazy. It was all necessary in order to prevent a single member of this barrage of blue fireballs from damaging him. After a good few seemingly endless seconds of this, Larva flung one final one at her opponent, only to have it flicked away as all the others did. Her metallic assailant was panting and covered in sweat. The treacherous woman smiled at him.

"Had enough?" she taunted.

Cutlass smirked back. "You wish..."

WHUMP! Larva yelped. Something heavy and blunt slammed into her ankles, sending her onto her back and hard. She caught a glimpse of a shadowy crocodile turning into something humanoid before noticing a long bar of steel was pressing itself against her throat. Cutlass had her pinned to the ground, and he couldn't have done it without that woman's help.

Larva snarled at her. "How long will you continue tormenting me, you harpie?!"

Annabyss's rainbow eyes squinted in an amused manner as five people suddenly ran up from behind her, each of them looking evidently ready to fight. Behind them, Larva noticed, in the distance, was an enormous pile of immobilized Fuzzipedes. Their festering bodies were raising a column of steam into the air. Annabyss's next line added insult to injury for the woman. "Until your evil has been wiped completely from this plane of existence."

Larva's eyes narrowed in unrelenting fury. She huffed out a sound that was somewhere between a bark, a hiss, and cursing beneath her breath. She flicked her hands upward and immediately ended the battle in her own way.

BBOOOMM!! What appeared to be a miniature and rather ephemeral tornado suddenly materialized beneath Larva, blasting a huge hole in the house everyone was on. It sent Cutlass flying backwards and made his six comrades jump back in surprise. The group of seven looked up. They saw a huge Flying Wiggler soaring through the sky at a noticeably low altitude. It swooped over the damaged roof and began to take off. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Cutlass, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss bore witness to something clad in red and yellow suddenly falling from the sky and onto that thing's back.

It was Larva. She faced the group with her arms folded and her eyes burning with hatred. One of her arms unfolded itself and pointed to her clique of adversaries. "Watch yourself, Annabyss!!" she yelled, her voice gradually becoming quieter as the bug carried her off into the night. "Your days are numbered!!!"

The seven-some watched as the maniacal woman's silhouette slowly faded away until it had completely merged with the night sky. Larva had miraculously escaped once more, and her seven victors could finally get down from the roof. Once they did so, and once they were on the wooden deck surrounding the straw house they had just been on, a whole bunch of Steens suddenly appeared, all of them running towards them and yelling out of awe and gratitude.

"YOU SAVED US!!"

"OUR HEROES!!"

"HUZZAAHHH!!!"

The Steens were hardly distinguishable from one another. They were incredibly small, dwarf-like creatures with peachy skin, green hair, bulgy eyes, and ball-like hands. One of them had a red cape and a green beard hanging off of his chin in addition to all this. He slowly walked towards the group, causing the Steens behind him to settle down some as all attention began to be drawn towards him.

"Strangers," he said, "we know not who you are, but know this: you have our eternal gratitude. We just want you to know that, no matter what happens, we will always have a place for you here, in Steen Stream."

The Steens all gave one more cheer for their group of saviors. Big Guy raised both of his arms in a gesture of pure gloating. Laser Snifit scratched the back of his head. Wario and Waluigi were giving their fans a very strange-looking salute, Tessa was waving to them, and Annabyss was bowing. Cutlass was just looking bewildered.

"Come, my friends," the elder of Steen Stream said, "allow me to give you the grand tour of our village..."

The bearded Steen began to walk off in one direction and the group of seven began to follow him. Making an unfamiliar little town extremely happy was starting to pay off and the tour was starting, but Cutlass couldn't get one thing off his mind.

_She's a shape shifter,_ he thought, as he eyed his new leader. _I wonder... How in the world is that possible?..._ And the night carried on...

* * *

Beneath the moonlight somewhere, there was a sea just off the coast of Mario Land. At its center was a small island with a statue of a giant turtle on top. Nearby it, the waters were starting to bubble. They quickly began to increase in number. Finally, in one big watery FWOOSH, Boshi popped out, gasping for breath.

"Damn," he panted, "not here either..."

The blue Yo'ster was scratching his head and looking around when he noticed more patches of bubbles were bursting their ways onto the surface of the water. He watched as, of all things, sharks with boxing gloves on suddenly popped out. Boshi examined each of them in perplexion.

"What is this?" he said. "A boxing frenzy?"

The sharks flashed some toothy grins at him. The next thing Boshi knew, BOINK! The front of his nose had been scrunched inward, the violent way.

"Dowww," he moaned as he rubbed his shnoz. "What'd you do dhat bor?!" Boshi noticed how their next move was to put all their gloved fists up. "Aw, grap..."

The sharks all moved in. In the center of all of them was a lot of punching and a lot of splashing noises. Unbeknownst to them, a small trail of bubbles was leading itself away from their assault. Boshi popped out of the water right where the bubbles were once they were far away enough. The cocky Yo'ster chuckled to himself.

"So long, suckers," he said quietly. The arrogant reptile began to swim away from all the madness with his arms taking turns swinging forward. This exercise continued until the shades-wearing man suddenly stopped, feeling an incredible pain in his left arm. He lifted it out of the water to notice a very small shark with boxing gloves had clamped its teeth onto it. Boshi sighed. "It's gonna be a LLOOONGG night..." The blue Yo'ster commenced trying to shake the puny shark off of his appendige. His trip to the Turtle Zone had proven to have been a rather unsuccessful one...

* * *

"This is the dojo..."

Annabyss and co. had been led to the front of one of the many little straw buildings of this stream-based town. Through its window, they could see a padded floor, but not much else. The elder of this village, Jean, went on with the elaboration of it.

"It's a place of many students," the elder explained. "It's essential for a Steen to be a master of martial arts. A steen must be strong, lean, and mean. That is why we are the Steens." The elder laughed, but the seven people following him merely nodded. "My son, Jinx, used to be a member of this place," Jean continued as he led the group across another one of the bridges connecting all of these houses. This one was particularly long and wide. It was cross-shaped, so it was connected to three buildings and some of the land on the other side of this town. The elder gestured to it. "But he eventually left in order to start one of his own in Monstro Town." Jean pointed to the dirt road between all the trees this part of the bridge led to. "At the end of this road, there's another town. It's called Il Ville. The Ils there are more into racing than they are into fighting. Still, should you ever find yourselves there, I'd watch out. Ils and Steens do not mingle well, after all..."

The tour continued on like that. The elder led his seven guests around for a little while longer, explaining various things along the way. Finally, he stopped at one particular building.

"And, as the last part of our tour," Jean said, "my house. If you'd like, the lot of you are more than welcome to stay here for the night. I even have rooms and tea for you."

"That'd be wonderful," Annabyss replied. Jean nodded and showed them the way in. In a few minutes, the elder had gotten them all sitting on the floor and surrounding a table with very short legs. All eight of them were sipping up cups of tea. Before long, Jean had gotten another explanation going.

"Three-hundred years ago," he began, "war ensnared this world. All of its people were forced to either fight for one person, or to fight for someone else..."

Tessa's ears perked up. She put her cup of tea down and began to listen to the story more intently, just to make sure if she had heard it before or not.

"One such person was an extremely powerful, extremely dangerous witch named Veyran. She along with two others tried taking over the Clover Kingdom. Our ancestors wouldn't stand for it, so they fought to the death. However, in spite of their efforts, only one man was able to defeat her; his name was Belome..."

Big Guy elbowed Laser Snifit making him splash some tea all over his mask. He said something about having heard of this. Laser Snifit told him to shut up. Jean resumed his story-telling.

"Once he used his powers to seal her spirit away into a nearby mountain, the threat was over. Ever since, there's been a curse upon Belome Rock. Also, the Steens and the Ils have been acting as rivals to one another. They were, after all, some of the enemies our ancestors had to face in order to prevent Veyran from getting her way..."

Annabyss put down her steaming teacup. She listened intently to the rest of the story, as though waiting for something.

"Nowadays, the curse of Belome Rock is one of the many hardships we have to face in our day-to-day lives. The Fuzzipede attack we experienced earlier was just one of them..." The elder paused a bit to take another sip of his tea. "Thieves, monsters, witches trying to avenge Veyran's death... Even a giant bird we started referring to as 'the Steenix'..." Cutlass took his turn to start listening more closely. Annabyss was the more determined one, though. "We've seen it all." Jean placed his tea down onto his saucer with a prominent clinking sound. He looked exasperated. "But how much more of it must we take? When can we become a normal village again? Only time will tell..."

Everything became silent. All that was left was the sounds of Wario and Waluigi drinking. In a moment, Annabyss broke the emptiness of the conversation. "Once we arrive at Uaurpe," she said, "the curse will be lifted..."

The elder suddenly perked his head up. He was staring at the shadowy woman. "I beg your pardon?"

"Once we arrive at Uaurpe, we will begin collecting each of the 120 Super Sparkles. We will take them from the seven felons that have enslaved them as well as the seven kings that once reigned over the land. Then we will have the power to set things right in this world. That will be when the curse will be lifted. Then your village will be free..."

"You'd do that??" the elder breathed. Annabyss nodded. "Oh, thank you!!" His actions reminded quite a few of his guests of the person they met on Belome Rock a while back, but it didn't matter. The eight people in the room finished up their tea. The elder stood up and told them it was probably about time for them to start calling it a night. "Come on," he said, "I'll show you to your rooms..."

The seven saviors of Steen Stream got up off the floor and began to follow their host out of the room. One by one, they each disappeared from sight. This entire meeting that had occurred had been watched in great interest by a spy. It was none other than a lone Fuzzipede staring into the corner of the elder's window.

Once its subjects were all gone, the small, gremlin-like creature began to hop away. It made its way past the houses, past the river, and onto dry land. Then it began to bound its way into the woods beyond Steen Stream, and it was gone.

Ever since the end of the attack, the night had been very quiet and peaceful. People everywhere were finally starting to bed down and sleep until morning. Each of them were blissfully unaware of a very dubious meeting that was going on between three different beings in the middle of these woods.

"Super Sparkles, you say?"

The Fuzzipede nodded. Its master was sitting on the branch of a lone tree. Her giant Flying Wiggler was resting on the ground nearby. Larva's mouth twisted into a malevolent smile.

"Excellent," she purred. "Perhaps my plans for world-domination have not entirely been ruined just yet..." The deadly woman slid her way off of the branch. She landed on her Wiggler's back. It picked its head up and began to flap its huge, butterfly-like wings. "But first..." Wind was being blown everywhere. It was whipping itself in the face of anything that just happened to be nearby as the Wiggler began to take off like a helicopter. Even the trees, the grass, and the Fuzzipede were having trouble staying their ground. "I have some unfinished business to take care of..." With one final WHOOSH, Larva and the Flying Wiggler were off. The lone Fuzzipede watched as its master slowly disappeared into the moon. Exactly what her next plan of action was remained a total mystery..

* * *

_Through darkness and day__  
__Through death and decay__  
__I will wait for you..._

With a gasp, Xoshi snapped his body upright. His consciousness was back with a vengeance. Feeling very confused, he looked around and took in his surroundings. He was in Pixel's room. More than that, even, he was in her bed. Looking around, he noticed how the window was still practically just a big semi-rectangular hole in the wall with broken glass fringing it. The brown Yo'ster figured that this was the source of the draft.

He also noticed how the unmoving bodies of Eon and Ion were gone. In addition to all of this, everything was extremely silent, although he would have sworn he had just been able to hear a heavenly voice a little while ago. The brown reptile scratched his head. He wondered what could have possibly happened during this short time he was out. After turning his head to the left once more, his eyes finally managed to pick up some answers, if not what could lead to them. Xoshi reached over and picked up off of Pixel's nightstand what appeared to be a folded-up letter. He unraveled the piece of paper and began to read its delicately written text.

_Xoshi,_

_Everything's okay now. Thanks to you and your friends, the monsters have left the village. Everyone was happy. You're all the heroes of the village now._

_White Rose and Leif returned to the inn and had a few drinks with Ion, after I fixed him and mom up (I'm something of a medic, you know). As for Davey, he went to stay at this one woman's house. She's actually a friend of my mom's. Her name is Era. For some reason, she really wanted to thank him._

_Oh, yeah. I fixed you up as well! That one monster hit you so hard on the head. I did the best I could to stop the bleeding. I hope it heals soon enough..._

Xoshi stopped reading for a moment to touch his right temple. Lo and behold, there was some type of padding taped to it. He carressed the soft thing for a second, and then went back to reading.

_Anyway, you're probably up by now. Everyone's probably asleep, so I wouldn't make too much noise, if I were you._

_Anyway, I thought I'd just clear all that up for you. If you have anymore questions, or if you need anything, just ask, okay?_

_Love,__  
__Pixel_

Xoshi lowered the letter he had in his hands. He took a few seconds to reflect upon all this. In the end, he decided that all that mattered was that all's well that ends well. He snapped awake from his thought process once he heard it again.

_I will wait for you.._

"Now I KNOW I can hear something," the Yoshi mumbled. He put the letter back where he found it, hopped out of bed, and started trotting towards the door. After opening it up, walking through it, and closing it behind him, he found himself in the hallway of the tavern, and remembering what Pixel had told him in her note. He commenced doing his best to tip-toe his way through the place and down the stairs while making as little noise and as much tracks as possible. He HAD to find out where that sound was coming from.

He figured it was singing. He moved his way through the messed up cafetaria and pushed his way out the door. The cool air of the night enveloped him. The sound of a gentle breeze and crickets chirping overtook his ears. He could start trying less hard to be quiet now, but he could also start hearing the sound more clearly.

The Yoshi trotted his way through the village, doing his best to follow his ears. His travels took him past the roads, past the houses, and right into the grassy outskirts of the small town. All he had left to do was to ascend this hill. It was the same hill he and the others were on earlier, and it had the source of this sound on top. His legs pumped their ways up this obstacle of nature. Once the Yoshi was at its peak, he began to slow down. On top of this hill, sitting on her knees and facing the woods beyond Silicon, was none other than Pixel. Her small hands were being held over her chest, and her lips were moving. A very beautiful sound was escaping them. The young Yo'ster stopped and waited for her to finish the song. It ended on a very sweet note. It made him feel as though he had just exited a hot spring.

"You're good," he said quietly.

"Thank you," the young woman replied. "It's a song Pixidus wrote. She used to sing it all the time. She was very good at it."

"That makes two of you, eh?" Xoshi had walked a little further so he could sit right next to the girl. She smiled at him.

"Both me and her were students of my mother. You should hear HER sing."

"Can your brother sing?"

"Yes, he can."

Xoshi smirked. "Sounds like quite the music-oriented family, you've got there."

"I know."

"But what about your father?"

The girl sighed. "I actually never knew my father. He died when I was very young. I heard he was good friends with Pixidus's father, though. Both he and my mom would always look out for us."

Xoshi looked at the ground solemnly. He nodded softly. "Hmm..."

"Pixidus and her dad got all the fun, though. They were always going on trips and stuff. Pixidus always had stories to tell me. That's how I found out about things like the Ring of Dheos and the Super-Happy Tree."

Xoshi and Pixel exchanged smiles over the reminder. However, the young singer's story didn't end there.

"It seemed that all ended about one year ago. Pixidus's father eventually left for the Beanbean Kingdom. He said there were people out there that were trying to revive Tondariya, and he just couldn't let that happen."

"Another good singer..."

Pixel nodded. "That was all during the War of the Shy Gang. He brought a few bodyguards with him." Pixel closed her eyes and heaved a great sigh. Xoshi watched with a gentle look of worry. "Not all of them returned. They said a giant monster got in their way. Pixidus's father... didn't survive..."

Xoshi was looking forlorn. "I... I'm sorry," he uttered.

Pixel waved a hand to him. "It's okay," she said. "It hurt Pixidus more. You can see why she eventually decided to take it upon herself to start heading for the Bean Star."

"Yeah..."

Pixel tilted her head upward. She was looking at the starlit sky. "I hope she's doing alright," the girl said. "I hope Acid and Base are alright, too. I don't want the three of them to die while they're in the Beanbean Kingdom."

"I know what you mean," Xoshi responded. He, too, began looking at the stars. "Three of my friends are somewhere out there. We lost track of each other a little while ago. Now I don't know where they are. I just hope they're alright." Pixel gave a nod. Xoshi reacted to this by giving off another smirk. "But you know," he added, "I'll bet that if they knew how to sing as nicely as you can... I'd be able to find them in a jiffy."

Pixel laughed. She smiled appreciatively at him. "Thank you," she said.

"Yup," Xoshi replied. He looked at the stars for a second more, but then turned to face the young Pixie again. "Say," he said, "you think you could sing that song one more time?"

Pixel beamed. "Sure thing..." Xoshi watched with his chin on a fist as the girl closed her eyes and began to let the song flow from her lips once more...

* * *

_I remember when I was young__  
__A dragon lived nearby__  
__A winged dream of pearly silk__  
__And a sapphire in each eye_

_He would hold me__  
__So gently__  
__As we flew into the sky__  
__He was always there__  
__He took special care__  
__But then he said goodbye_

_Oh, dragon of time__  
__Where have you gone?__  
__I am lost and alone__  
__The wind has come and blown__  
__Yet I gaze into the blue_

_The river keeps on flowing__  
__It gives no ear to me__  
__Through darkness and day__  
__Through death and decay__  
__I will wait for you_

_Our adventures were never-ending__  
__There were strange worlds far and wide__  
__No man, no beast would face us__  
__They would always run and hide_

_We were joyful__  
__And blissful__  
__Our friendship could not end__  
__But he had to go__  
__For I did not know__  
__There were shadows around the bend_

_Eternal life__  
__The desire of the world__  
__But it's often a dream__  
__So my friend, it would seem__  
__Is never to return_

_I'm growing older now__  
__My life has changed for good__  
__I'm being torn and tried__  
__Without you by my side__  
__It leaves my eyes to burn_

_Oh, dragon of time__  
__Where have you gone?__  
__I am lost and alone__  
__The wind has come and blown__  
__Yet I gaze into the blue_

_The river keeps on flowing__  
__It gives no ear to me__  
__Through darkness and day__  
__Through death and decay__  
__I will wait for you..._

Even in the Beabean Kingdom, things were as peaceful as ever. The three of Pixidus, Acid, and Base had come a long way. The trio of Pixies had found a nice opening in the middle of the woods somewhere. The whole lot of them were doing little more than relaxing. The two tall bodyguards of the group were seated near the fire, and the singer was standing atop a large rock coming out of the ground. While facing the dark sky, she had just completed singing her trademark song. She opened her eyes and speculated for a moment.

_Eon, Ion, Era, Pixel... Father..._ she thought, _it's been a long road, but we're finally here. Soon, we'll finally be at the castle. Then I'll awaken the Bean Star, and all this madness will come to an end. Tondariya must not get away with all that she's done..._

Away from the rock, one of them was gazing into the flickering flames, looking deep in thought. The other looked as though he'd rather be somewhere else. The one with a lighter shade of silver coloring his hair got a conversation going. "So, Acid," he said, "what do you think it'd be like if you were fire?"

"I'd be pretty hot," Acid answered. Base seemed unphased by his snide remark.

"You'd have no control over yourself. You wouldn't know how big or how small you were, or even if you were getting any bigger. You also wouldn't know what you were being used for. You could be being used for a campsite or burning down a building, and you wouldn't even know it."

"I'd be dead."

"What if fire were alive?" Acid cocked an eyebrow at his partner. "It'd be wondering who and what it was and what it was doing..."

"Well, I know what I'M gonna do," Acid snorted, turning away from the other Pixie, "I'm gonna go to sleep."

Base nodded. "Yeah. Good idea." He looked up and watched the person walking towards them. "Care to join us, Pixidus?"

"Yes, thank you," the woman stated. While Acid and Base were beginning to make themselves a bit more comfortable, Pixidus was starting to walk a bit closer to them and the campfire. All three of them would have gotten the opportunity to start enjoying some well-deserved rest had something prominently hideous not have interrupted this little session of theirs.

TSEW!! Something bright and yellow suddenly flew out of nowhere. It collided with the campfire and made it disappear in a small explosion. All that was left of it was a rising pillar of smoke coming from the ground. Everything became pitch black. Regardless, the three Pixies looked up in order to catch a glimpse of whoever or whatever it was that caused this assault. They couldn't make it out exactly, but it was unbelievably gigantic. It was a towering silhouette sticking out of the forest. It was quite possibly over 50 feet tall. Its only visible physical feature other than its gargantuan height was its eyes. Both of which were glowing green like a pair of oddly-colored suns. The Pixies stared into them with one thing on their minds.

"We're under attack."

"Indeed," Base said, replying to Acid's quip. "Well then, shall we?"

"Yes..." The three Pixies jumped up and got the battle going. Base made his move first. He launched his right hand forward with its claw-like nails aiming at the tremendous beast. ZZWWOOFF!! Five big, long, metallic strings fired from them like a quintet of grappling hooks. One second later, they had latched onto the chest of the behemoth. Acid jumped onto this five-some of cords and starting running up them like the makeshift bridge they were. It was a long bridge and it made twanging sounds with each step, but Acid eventually made it. Once he was a few feet away from the monstrosity's face, he spread his arms out. ZWOOFF!! Ten strings flew out. They curved around the fiend's face and disappeared behind it. Once Acid could tell they had latched onto one another, he pulled hard. It was possible that taking this thing down face first by the neck was their best chance. Acid had succeeded in forcing the demon to inch forward, but that was it. It gave him one good glare. Then he was instantly out of the battle.

TSEWW!! The same force that got the fire fell its next victim. An explosion collided with Acid's chest. The cords snapped and the male Pixie fell off of Base's bridge. Base watched with wide eyes and a mouth gaping open as his comrade fell from the sky and went crashing into the trees below. After wincing and scowling for his defeat, Base decided to try his hand at showing up this monster.

He snapped the cords attached to the beast's chest back into his fingertips and started going all out against it. ZWOOF! ZWOOF! His hands took turns lashing out at the enemy. Both of their movements had caused ten more strings to start flying, almost like a bunch of steel whips. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough. TSEW!! TSEW!! The monster kept blasting each of them away, thus forcing the Pixie to keep lashing some more at it. However, all this resulted in was two flurries of cords and explosions clashing into one another repeatedly. Eventually, one of the two forces made its mark. TSSEW!! A severe amount of damage scorched its way onto Base's chest. The ill-fated Pixie flew back and went skidding across the ground. Both of the bodyguards were out. Now it was just between Pixidus and this behemoth.

The golden-haired woman looked deeply into its flaming green eyes. "I'm afraid I must bid farewell to you now," she said. The monster wasn't listening. It began to take quake-causing footsteps towards the woman. The Pixie ignored it. She closed her eyes, put her hands over her chest, and opened her mouth. Three different voices came out, each of them singing a haunting melody in perfect harmony. The instant the huge beast heard this, it stopped in its tracks. It was no longer in the woods; it was in a humungous dungeon. More than that, it was hanging in the air by its ankles, both of them being held in place by some shackles. Out of the corner of its eye, it could make out a man by some gigantic machine. He grinned devilishly at the beast and flipped a switch. This caused two enormous steel doors to open up beneath the demon. They revealed two tremendous steel, spike-covered cylinders, whirling about madly. The monster itself was being lowered into it. Refusing to believe any of this was happening, it began to thrash about.

Pixidus saw an explosion of blood fly out from the scalp of the beast's head as it suddenly broke out of the illusion and began to take more seismic steps forward. Pixidus furled her brow a bit and tried again. Her mouth opened up once more, this time pouring forth a strange tune even more unworldy and unsettling than the last.

In a flash, the monster, again, was not in the woods anymore; it was lying on its back in the middle of a field. Ropes were all over its body. Each one was tied to a stake pounded firmly into the ground, thus rendering the overgrown monstrosity completely immobile. To top it all off, the creature was surrounded by a bunch of Pixies. Each of them kept jumping on it, crawling all over it, and digging their nails into it. They kept tearing out chunks of its flesh and stuffing it into their mouths. It was being eaten alive.

Bloody holes started being blasted out of the fiend's chest. It may have turned the clear night sky into a black mass that was raining some thick red liquid, but it didn't matter to Pixidus. All she cared about was the fact that this pest was finally being given what it deserved. Her eyes widened and began to quiver once the beast let loose a deafening roar and lunged its way out of the forest. It had broken the illusion again, and was in the opening, making it dangerously close to the accomplished singer. It glared down at her. Pixidus looked back, but only for a second. She closed her eyes again and started singing a song that was even more traumatizingly unnerving beyond redemption than the other two combined.

Once again, the beast froze up. This time, it was neither hanging upside-down nor being pinned to the ground; it was being carried off. Thousands of strange creatures of all shapes and sizes had it on their upraised palms. Some of them had horns growing out of their heads. Some of them had multiple heads on their shoulders. Some of them had eyeballs all over their body. The whole lot of them were in a massive cave; a cave of fire and brimstone. They were leading the tremendous beast to a the edge of one particularly collossal cliff. Beyond it was an entire ocean of raging flames. There didn't seem to be a bottom to it. The gigantic monster growled as the foul beings beneath it got closer to the edge, causing the beast's body to become overwhelmed with immense heat and perspiration. With one bloodcurdling, monstrous howl, it had been thrown into the flaming abyss. It could feel its skin begin to turn black and flake off as it plummeted deeper and deeper into this never-ending nightmare.

Pixidus watched as the monster began to gradually transform into a humungous, walking pile of debris. Its eyes were no longer visible, and huge flaps of burnt skin kept flying off of it and being sent across the forest like black snow. The woman saw this and gave a subtle smile. However, once the ground began to shake and once the giant creature shot up into the air like a rocket, panic overcame her. She looked up into the sky at the mass of black coming down at her. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands tightly over her chest. She knew this next split-second was going to determine the outcome of this battle...

_Through darkness and day__  
__Through death and decay__  
__I will wait for you..._

* * *

Pixel's eyes opened up as her song slowly faded to a close. Xoshi had a look on his face as though he was having a dream in which he was relaxing in a valley of flowers. "You're so good," he said quietly.

"Thank you," the girl replied.

"So, not only are you a medic, but you're also a good singer? Talk about multi-talented..." Pixel gave a small laugh. Xoshi wasn't finished, though. In the nick of time, he remembered something. "Oh, and speaking of talents," he said, getting Pixel to face him once more, "what's the deal with that one string thing you were doing? You know, when you were attacking the monster?"

"That?" Pixel said. "It's just something Pixies can do. Watch..." Pixel laid her arm down on her leg. When she brought it up, it looked as though she was pulling a set of metal strings out of her leg with her arm. Xoshi was awestricken. He was even more so once the girl slid a thumb through each of them, revealing it sounded perfectly like a harp.

"Wow..."

"That's not all..." She pushed the strings back into her leg with her arm, causing them to disappear. Once she pulled them back up, there turned out to be only six of them this time, each of them noticeably thicker than the last ones. She started strumming them with her fingers, forming a little tune. It sounded like a guitar this time.

"Ooh..." Xoshi watched and listened in great interest as the Pixie girl used this unique ability of hers to create more makeshift instruments, including a mandolin, a sitar, and, somehow, even a harpsichord. "A woman of many talents," Xoshi commented.

Pixel smiled and said, "I know." She made the strings disappear again. "As you can see, they're mostly used for instruments, but they can be used in battle as well."

Xoshi watched her breathe a sigh. "What is it?" he asked.

"Well," she started, "I've just been thinking lately... Maybe Tondariya's not the only evil force out there at work. Maybe there are others threatening the world, like those bug things that attacked us earlier."

"Tell me about it," Xoshi replied. "Before me and my friends came here, we had to deal with a bunch of ghosts, a bunch of Pokeys, and even a bunch of Crazee Dayzees. It's like..." The brown Yoshi began gesturing with his hands. "There's a bunch of organizations out there, and they're all just... racing to see who can dominate the world first."

"I know," Pixel said. "I just hope none of them succeed."

"Hey," Xoshi responded, "you've got Pixidus fighting them. What could go wrong? Not to mention, there's me..."

Pixel laughed. The Yoshi and the Pixie talked for a little while longer beneath the stars. They greatly appreciated each other's company. After a while, though, they had to bring it to a close. The two of them agreed to call it a night and they began to walk back to the inn. Once they were back up the stairs and in front of a certain door, the girl turned to the brown reptile with a very peace-inspiring facial expression.

"By the way, Xoshi," she said, "there's one other thing I forgot to write in my letter..."

"What's that?"

The girl took the Yoshi's hands in hers. "Thank you..." It took Xoshi a bit by surprise. He could swear he felt his heart skip a beat once those delicate little hands took his reptilian ones and once he stared into those gleaming, magenta-colored eyes. "Thank you for saving me..."

Xoshi blinked and felt his throat dry up, but this moment required him to say something. "Y-You're welcome," he got out. The cute young Pixie gave him one last smile.

"Goodnight, Xoshi," she said to him

"G-Goodnight." The young woman had walked back into her room. Xoshi watched her do so. After contemplating for a second or two, he decided to hit the hay himself. He slowly began to walk back towards his room.

_Oi,_ the Yo'ster thought. _I like her. I like her a lot. But..._

_Yes?_ Beel queried.

_How would Jeila react... if she were to find out about me and..._

_Infatuations are but one of many things in life, Xoshi. Like anything else, you'll manage to work it all out in the end, one way or another, even if it takes a while. I can guarentee you that..._

_Yeah... I guess you're right..._ Xoshi entered his room. He didn't come out until morning...

* * *

Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Cutlass, Waluigi, and Tessa had each been shown to their rooms. When offered a room of her own, Annabyss turned it down and said she preferred to stay outside and keep watch. As a result, Jean for this one night gotten his own guard for his house. While she was out there, her six teammates were preparing themselves for some sleep. In one room, Wario and Waluigi had already gotten it. In another, Big Guy and Laser Snifit couldn't have been further from it. The two of them had engaged each other in a pillow fight. As for Cutlass and Tessa, they were a little bit closer to it. Cutlass got the bed that was further away from the door. He was already lying beneath its covers with his hands behind his head. His eyes hadn't closed yet, though. Then again, neither had Tessa's.

The fact she was sharing this room and its two beds at someone else's house vaguely reminded her of the old days in Dr. Kamenstein's dome. She thought about her brother for a second, and then began to part her hair in certain ways with her hands so that it'd be easier to sleep on. As she did this, Cutlass noticed how, not only was her hair purple, but, beneath it, there were these oddly-shaped, curvy, pointy ears. Purple hair and pointy ears seemed to ring a bell. He kept staring at the girl, wondering if there was more to her than just her appearance.

"Why are your ears pointy?" he asked.

Tessa stopped and looked at him. Her eyes shifted for a bit as one of her little hands fiddled with an ear. "These? Uh..." Her brow furled in thought. "I don't really know. Every time I asked my parents about them, they just changed the subject."

"Parents..." The silver alien began looking at the straw ceiling of the room. "I wish I could remember what kind of parents _I_ had..."

"It'll come back to you, don't worry," the girl reassured.

"Hmm..."

Tessa got herself beneath the covers. She looked at her metallic companion once more before beginning to rest her head and her eyes. "Well, goodnight."

"G'nit," the silver man mumbled. Tessa was another story, but falling asleep wasn't very easy for Cutlass. For a while, he remained awake, thinking certain things over and over again. At last, his eyes shut, and he began to slip away into a realm of dreams and memories...

It was a few years ago. He still lived in the world of blades and a perpetually cloudy sky. Dwarfing all of the other buildings in this city of knives was one particular building that was very large, very fancy, and very palace-like. The young Cutlass had made his way to it. He had gotten past the humungous, pricy, blade-covered wall surrounding it that doubled as a sort of fence and a moat-substitute. He had gotten past a few of the guards and servants within the place and around it. His travels eventually took him to the enormous, circular ballroom of the mansion. No sooner than when he entered one of its immense doorways did he suddenly get attacked.

He heard a loud CLANG behind him. He quickly pulled out his sword and turned around, only to see dust falling out of a gash in the wall. He turned around again, and CHING! His blade was knocked from his grasp. Something heavy slammed him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and pinned him to the ground. He heard a whoosh and saw another, slightly different sword aiming at his face. His eyes moved their ways up the weapon and onto the face of the man holding it: his father, Cutthroat.

Cutthroat, in essence, looked perfectly like an adult version of his son, only his long white hair was in a ponytail and he had a mustache bordering his mouth in a semi-goatee. His body wore an extravagant white tuxedo that looked as though it originated in colonial times, but his face wore a grave expression that seemed to ooze with anger, frustration, impatience, and maybe even hatred.

"You're pathetic," he snarled. "I pay good money for that class you go to. This is the best you can give me? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THERE?!"

Of course, the fact that he had just been sworn at by his own father was far from Cutlass's thoughts. "I... I'm the best one there," he rasped, feeling like his chest was being crushed.

"I know that," Cutthroat growled, "but you're still PATHETIC." The rich man pulled his sword away from his son's face and got his foot off his chest. Cutlass began to get himself off the ground, only to feel a swift kick in his ribs. The young boy turned his head to glare at his father. His father looked at him back with a look of disdain. "Don't give me that look." The man put his sword back in his scabbard. He pointed to his son firmly as he started standing again. "And don't go sneaking around my office, either. Daddy's got an important meeting with two business partners tonight, and he can't be disturbed. GOT IT?!"

"Yes," Cutlass said flatly.

"Good." The corporate success put his finger down and began to walk out of the oversized room. He may have been more than twenty feet away when he did so, but Cutlass could still hear him mutter, "Little maggot." The boy continued to glare at where his father had disappeared. He was still jittering and feeling as though there was a fire beneath every inch of his skin. The next thing he heard was a soft, feminine voice behind him, but it didn't help.

"Don't mind him... He just wants you to be perfect..." Cutlass turned around and saw an attractive young woman sauntering through the room. She had long, wavy, white hair and an incomparably fancy, queen-like dress on. The boy watched her walk past him without even looking at him. He sneered at her as she walked out of the room. He began to walk out of it himself. His hands were in his pockets and his brow was knitted.

_Parents?_ he thought disgustedly. _I don't have parents... Just people that hate me..._

The present-day Cutlass jolted awake. Some rather loud voices could be heard next door. "Oh, yeah?? Well, next time, I'LL be able to take on TWO-hundred of them!!"

"Big Guy, will you keep it down?! You're gonna wake someone!!"

"Next time..."

The last sentence had been spoken in a considerably lower volume, but it didn't make much of a difference to Cutlass. He merely got himself comfortable again and closed his eyes.

_This is indeed an interesting group of people I've gotten myself with..._

* * *

"Goodnight, Hyrg."

"Goodnight."

Another long day of training had gone by. Once again, it was time for Hyrg to enter his room, climb beneath the covers, and sleep the night away. He got on top of the bed, but he didn't start relaxing just yet. Instead, he whipped out that one book Galileo had given him once more.

He turned to the page of where he left off last and looked at its picture. This one was of a big, fat woman in a green dress and a pink fur coat. Her skin was white and her fingernails were long, red, and pointy. One of her hands was holding a frilly fan. Where a pair of legs would normally be was a ghostly tail. By looking at what was on the woman's shoulders, Hyrg could see what vaguely resembled a long, mutated face. However, most of it was obscured by a mask that looked as though it belonged to the face of an elegantly dressed empress from a faraway land, complete with the white skin, the chubby cheeks, the slick black hair, and the heavy amount of make-up. Hyrg also made sure to take note of four other things this woman was wearing: golden bracelets, golden earrings, a golden necklace, and a golden crown. It came as no surprise to him to find out what this woman's name was once he commenced reading...

_God of Chaos #4: Golden Diva_

_Gender: Female__  
__God of: Gold__  
__Element: Star_

_Golden Diva was thought to be greedy beyond comprehension. What she wanted was all the treasure in the world, all for herself. This included everything from rare and valueable statues to small pieces of jewelry. She didn't care who she had to trample in order to accomplish this. Not even the other members of the Twelve Gods of Chaos were excluded from this._

_Eventually, though, her greed caught up with her. She started setting her sights on the ultimate treasure: an entire kingdom. More specifically, the kingdom of Kora. It was a country in the desert that lived under a feudal system. The royal family that presided over it lived in the land's feature Golden Pyramid, something Golden Diva couldn't get her eyes off of._

_War broke out once she invaded the kingdom, backed up by her army of demons. However, none of them could compete with Golden Diva herself. Many people tried their hand at defeating her, but only one truly had the power to do so: the heir to the throne of the kingdom, Princess Shokora. Both the mystical powers she had been blessed with since birth along with the four family heirlooms were required in order to bring down the demon for good. These heirlooms consisted of a crown, a necklace, a pair of bracelets, and a pair of earrings. Only Shokora could unlock their powers._

_The final battle of the two sorceresses ended in victory and in tragedy. Princess Shokora's magic proved effective against Golden Diva, meaning it was beyond too much for the demon to take. Before the princess could forever seal the female monster's spirit inside a cursed tomb within the Golden Pryamid's walls, the God of Chaos unleashed one final attack against the kingdom: a spell that killed every last person in it, including the people, the king, the queen, and even the goddess's own army of demons._

_The woman had something special reserved for the lone survivor of the kingdom, however. Unfortunately, no records can truly say what that was. All that is known is that, from that point on, Princess Shokora's whereabouts were completely unknown, although, legend has it, her last wish was to be reunited with her family and the people of her kingdom, even if it meant death._

_In order to be revived, someone must enter the final resting place of Golden Diva, the Golden Pyramid. Inside, many trials await. If done correctly, they can lead one to all four of the treasures, which are essential for the God of Chaos's resurrection..._

Hyrg took a moment to think over this new God of Chaos he had just read about. Once he got that out of the way, he put the book back in its rightful place, and finally decided to start getting some sleep. _I can't wait to find out what the other ones were like,_ he thought...

* * *

The young Cutlass was walking beside the railing of one of the floors of his mansion. The look on his face was of annoyance at first. Then it became one of pure hatred. He could hear some extremely loud, obnoxious laughing coming from far beneath the railing. The silver alien looked over the edge just to confirm his suspicions. It indeed turned out to be three people: a silver man with a sword, a silver man with a sledgehammer, and a purple man with a laser pistol.

_My father and two of the most infamous intergalactic conquerors in the galaxy,_ Cutlass scowled. _Smithy and Tito..._

Once his two friends quieted down their laughter a bit, the purple one continued his story. "And then when his family looked at me with these scared looks on their faces, I say, 'What's the matter? Wanna join him?' And I pulled out my pistol and I killed all of them." The other two started guffawing again. Cutlass rolled his eyes in disgust at them.

"Mindless idiots," he grumbled.

"CUTLASS, YOU WORTHLESS INGRATE, YOU'D BETTER NOT BE EAVESDROPPING ON US!!" his father yelled. The young boy immediately shoved himself off the railing and began to speedwalk away. He faintly heard his father say, "Sorry about that. He can be a little nuisance sometimes. How about we talk more in my office? Just follow me..."

Cutlass hoped and prayed his father would someday die a horrible death as he continued to walk through the halls. As he got closer to the room he was looking for, he started hearing more voices. The first one was a bit goofy-sounding. The second one was more snake-like.

"Isn't Tito the greatest? He killed all of'em! Wow!"

"Yeah, but he doesn't compare to Smithy. Now that's a man!!"

"Hmm... You're right! Ha ha ha!!"

"Ha ha ha!!"

Cutlass came within reach of his designated door. It was being guarded by two of the house's many servants. Both of them were silver aliens, but, for one of them, it was kind of hard to tell. Cutlass could see his hands, but, for reasons unknown, his entire head and neck was concealed beneath a purle hood of some sort. Only his eyes were visible. As for the other guard, only half of his face could be seen (not that there was much about it to be seen). A good portion of it was being obscured by a ridiculously huge white mustache. The mustachioed one with the goofy voice was the first to speak once Cutlass drew near.

"Master Cutlass! Gonna try your hand in the Machine Made room again?"

"Either that, or I'm gonna cut off a few," Cutlass grumbled.

"What?" said the mustachioed one.

"Nothing, Cloaker. Just let me in."

"Okay!" Cloaker and the other one pushed the double doors open. Cutlass sulked into them and disappeared. Once the doors closed, Cloaker got the conversation to resume. "Say, Domino? What do you think he meant?"

"Who knows?" said the hooded man. "The boy's got problems..."

Inside, Cutlass paused before walking any further into the room. _I've got problems, alright,_ he thought darkly. The Machine Made room, whatever it was, was gigantic. It was quite dark in there, but everything in there still appeared to be a cold, sterile metal grey color. In the center of it all was a bunch of markings in a circle. Cutlass walked directly into the middle of it. The second he did that, the circle and the markings began to shine with a teal light. The light spread throughout the neatly shaped, neatly arranged cracks that spanned from the circle. Once they hit the two far walls, a total of twelve rectangles of teal light lit up. Not only did those rectangles make everything in the room a lighter shade of grey; they also caused twelve different doors to open up.

Soldiers started pouring out of them. They surrounded the young boy, each of them with their weapons drawn and their fists up. Looking to his left, Cutlass could see soldiers that looked as though they were of the same race as Smithy as well as his father. Others looked more like Tito. The remaining ones looked like humanoid frogs. Looking to his right, the young swordsman could see a whole horde of Shysters, Flunkies, and Drill Bits. These were two very different, yet very similar groups he was opposing. The consistent thing about them was that they were all completely grey, just like anything else in the room. Cutlass grimaced at all of them, drew his sword, and lunged at a few of them. Then the battle began...

The young boy put on an amazing display of skill and flexibility. Exactly where he was going to flip or turn next was constantly unpredictable. Using nothing but his hands, his feet, and his sword, he was able to do everything to these grey soldiers, including breaking their arms off and beheading them. They'd die twitching whenever that'd happen, but sparks would be flying from them rather than blood. The silver alien-like ones would fight using swords, the purples with laser pistols, and the frogs with their tongues. Even the Shysters, the Flunkies, and the Drill Bits were pulling out all the stops. In spite of this, none of them were anything of a match for Cutlass.

SHING! He chopped the head off of a Shyster. _My father is the most selfish, most greedy bastard in town._ BDDZZT! He gouged the guts out of a purple alien. _People assume I must not be much better than him, because I'm his spawn._ WHAM! He kicked one of the frogs in the gut so hard, it split the amphibian in two. _He and my mother married for money rather than love._ A silver alien and a Flunky went flying towards him. He jumped onto their heads and separated them from their necks just by jumping off of them harshly enough. He landed and took out about ten Drill Bits in a row just by sweeping his sword through them. _Neither of them couldn't care less about me..._

_I hate my life._ He hacked the arm off a purple alien. _I hate my father._ He chopped the legs off a frog. _I hate the company he owns._ He made shish kebob out of a Shyster's head and threw it into a charging mob of Drill Bits. _I hate all the potions he makes._ He punted a Flunky out of the way and went running full tilt towards a group of silvers. _I hate all the people that buy them from him, because they don't know how to get strong otherwise._

_I hate those two goons he's always hanging out with._ A frog went down. _Just looking at how chummy those morons are with each other makes me sick._ A purple, a Shyster, a Flunky, and a Drill Bit went down. _The only thing this room they gave us is good for is an escape._

_I hate my life._ Cutlass slashed about 20 more soldiers to pieces. The room was becoming cluttered with the pieces of their mechanical corpses. The boy stood at the center of it all, panting and feeling sweat roll down his temples. The flow of attacking enemies had slowed down significantly. He turned and saw that one was left: a silver one. He gripped his sword tightly and scowled at the final enemy with the utmost of hatred. _But most of all..._ He began to run towards the silver alien. _Above all else..._ He jumped high up into the air. _I..._ He raised his sword. _HATE HIM!!!_ He could see his father's face on that soldier's shoulders. This made it feel all the more gratifying once his sword cleaved the whole thing in half, right down the middle.

WHAM!! The boy overdid it. He not only split his opponent in two; he also slammed out a big chunk of the stone floor that was beneath it. It didn't matter to him. He wrenched his blade out of the ground and sheathed it. The young fighter collapsed into a sitting position on the ground as he began to pant heavily. He was hot and sweaty. The exercise had set his whole body alight. However, it wasn't just due to the work-out that it was burning...

He wallowed in his personal lava pit of resentment and loathing for a bit more. He was gritting his teeth at the thought of his own father when he started hearing the voice of none other than that man himself. The boy's ears perked up. He wondered where the source of that voice could possibly be. Once his eyes fell in front of him, he found it: it was the hole in the ground he had just made. He marveled for a second about how he had done more to it than he thought. Then he crawled up to the thing to have a look.

It wasn't a particularly big hole. The young silver alien could only make out the tiniest fragment of light peaking out of it. Most of it, after all, was little more than a missing chunk from the ground. Still, Cutlass could hear voices coming from it. He leaned his ear against it and strained the best he could to find out what they were saying.

"Well?" his father said. "How does it taste?"

"Like blueberries," said Tito.

"With a touch of gasoline," Smithy added.

Cutthroat chuckled. "Regardless, I guarentee you this potion will make you immortal. As long as you have it, you won't die. Hell, you won't even get hurt! It's very expensive, though, and I don't normally show it to people (let alone let them drink it), but I feel I can make the exception with you guys. You do, after all, have a worthy cause."

Tito laughed. "What could be more worthy than conquering the universe?"

"Just remember," Cutthroat continued, "this is a PACT. You guys bring me back the ingredients, and I can make newer, more advanced potions. I don't want your planet-conquering to go wrong... and I don't want my company to fail."

Tito scoffed. "Is that doubt in your mind?"

"Cutthroat, my boy," Smithy said in his gruff voice, "you are talking to Titotal Gonnic and Sledge Smithy. We are the most fearsome beings in the galaxy. Doubting us isn't even physically possible."

"Of course," Cutthroat replied. "Of course, it isn't..."

Cutlass pulled his ear away from the hole. He didn't understand everything he had just heard. All he could really make out was that three of his least favorite people had probably just become three of the galaxy's worst enemies. The boy wondered what the point in all this was. He wondered what it was about planet-conquering that could get such a three-some of people so interested. He sighed and shook his head, thinking about how he really had not been in any need of one more good reason to hate them.

A while later, he got off the ground, brushed himself off, and began to walk through the pile of dead mechanical enemies strewn about the floor. Once he walked out of the doors, he greeted Cloaker and Domino and began journeying towards his room. Unfortunately, the worst possible delay prevented him from doing so. After turning around one corner, he accidentally ran right into the chest of his father. He stood back and looked at his stern face.

"You," he growled. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?" The boy noticed how he had a chunk of grey rock clutched tightly in one hand. His knuckles were white.

"I-"

The adult Cutlass couldn't remember much else. The grim session between him and his father had been interrupted by a young girl rubbing his shoulders.

"Come on, Cutlass, it's time to get up!" Tessa insisted.

Cutlass began to push himself off the bed. Tessa took her hands off of him as he let the sheets slide off his body. He started sitting on the bed and running a hand through his long, messy hair as sunlight from the nearby window bore down on him.

"Meet us in the kitchen, okay?" the girl told him. Cutlass just nodded. His eyes were still crusty with yellow stuff. "Okay then!"

The young female ran off. Cutlass was by himself. He took his time to stand up and stretch. After getting the feeling back in his arms and his back, he began to walk out of the room while digging his fingers into his eyes. _Interesting night..._

* * *

Back in Silicon, the three of Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif were back on the path leading outside of the place. They just had to wait on one more person.

"Where is that boy?!" Leif asked. "Surely, if there's anyone who would be in a rush to reach Belome Rock, it would be him!"

"Perhaps that woman he's with is to blame?" White Rose suggested. About half a minute later, their latest member finally showed up. He trotted up to his three party members.

"Sorry, guys!" Davey said. "She uh... she made me a pie."

"What flavor?" Xoshi asked.

"Tomato."

Xoshi stuck his tongue out. Leif said, "How repulsive."

"Hey, shut up," Davey said. "Tomatoes are fruits, too, you know."

"Yes, well," White Rose chimed in, "talk of pies can come at a later time. Right now, we must move onward to Belome Rock."

"Right!" Davey chirped. With that, the reformed quartet began to walk away from Silicon once more, another exotic adventure being but a few hours away. During the walk, Xoshi looked at the young Davey and pictured him with the adult woman he had just met a little while ago. It seemed kind of odd to him. Then again, he had been spending quite some time with Pixel as of late, and their races weren't even that similar. He remembered her smiling and waving to him before he left again.

The brown Yoshi gave a small sigh. _I guess it's not just justice we're fighting for anymore..._

* * *

"You have done so much for us," Jean said. "Please... Take care."

The seven of Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Cutlass, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss had gotten their things together. They had made their ways to the part of the bridge leading to the other side of the river, and were seen off by the mayor and a bunch of other Steens that had become big fans of them. They all waved to each other as they parted ways. It was finally time for Annabyss and co. to get their journey to Uaurpe back on track.

The sun illuminated the cloudless sky, making it one massive canvass of solid blue. Beneath it was a dirt path in the middle of two forests of fluffy green trees. It was a colorful day, but Cutlass doubted that was the only thing within five feet of him that was colorful. He looked at the gigantic Big Guy, the small, but equally strange-looking Laser Snifit, the extremely dubious Kamenstein Bros., the purple-haired little girl he had shared a room with, and, of course, the ever so enigmatic Annabyss. The silver alien wondered how such a group could help him recover his memory. He also wondered what ordeal was lying in wait for them next.

_Somehow,_ he thought, _I just don't think getting to Uaurpe will be that easy..._

* * *

In the Beanbean Kingdom, there was a trail of destruction. A path of assorted trees in the woods had each been flattened and crushed into the ground as though trampled upon. It led to an opening. It had a rock, a pile of black ashes where a fire once was, and two people. They were standing in front of an ovular mound of dirt covered in white and pink flowers. The one with dark silver hair had one hand over his forehead as though he had just done something unbelievably insolent. The other one was wiping moisture from his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Pixidus," Base said quietly. Acid reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well," he said, "I... I guess we should just go back now."

"Y-Yeah..." Acid was starting to turn away, but Base remained staring at the flowers. "Well," he whispered, "so long, Pixidus..." The Pixie didn't budge. He wouldn't let the collection of petals and symbolism leave his sight. Acid had to walk up to him, put an arm around his shoulder, and slowly lead him away. It took a brutally long time, but they were eventually both gone. Everything was eerily silent. It seemed even the trees and the blades of grass themselves could feel the loss. The mission in the Beanbean Kingdom had ended in failure.

_The river keeps on flowing__  
__It gives no ear to me__  
__Through darkness and day__  
__Through death and decay__  
__I will wait for you..._


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**  
"Thank you! Have a nice day!" 

Christopher's wife smiled and waved as her latest customer, a young woman, walked out of the door of her husband's store with a new book in her arms. Once the woman was gone, the shop's temporary owner could start relaxing again. Everything in Gana Village had been relaxing ever since the defeat of the evil clowns.

Christopher's wife leaned her elbow against the counter and held her head up with its upraised hand. She frowned a bit. The evil clowns may have disappeared, but that was all they did. At first the female shop owner figured she could take conciliation in the fact that, should the clowns return, their Dr. Kamenstein could come and save them, but these thoughts were removed from her head once she realized he couldn't always be there for them. He did, after all, had two young boys of his to find. This probably meant that, when the time came, Gana Village was going to have to fend for itself and only for itself...

The wife and mother jolted out of her daze. She was hearing some yelling and screaming voices outside. One of them was from the woman that had stopped by, who was sounding fearful. The other was sounding slightly annoyed.

"AUGHH!! GET THOSE THINGS AWAY FROM ME!!"

"Would you boys knock it off?! Geez, I can't take you anywhere!!"

A few yells later (and even a few barks), the commotion had quieted down. Once the  
door to the store opened, its owner could catch a glimpse of a young woman backing away from a bunch of Chain Chomps tied to a pole, each of them jumping around and gnashing their teeth. The person walking through the door was none other than their owner, a red Pianta woman in an orange bikini top.

"Chain Chomps!" she said, as she approached the other woman. "They're not easy to raise, I tell ya."

"Good morning, Chainabel Lee," the poet's wife stated. "How's your sister doing?"

"Well, you know, same old stuff. Listen, I was wondering if you had any books on the Orokon."

"Excuse me?"

"The Orokon. You know, a group of people rumored to be living in the center of the planet. They say they know everything, including what they don't know. Maybe they know how to get Chain Chomps to take their insulin, you know?"

"Hmm..." Christopher's wife looked around beneath the counter for a few seconds. She came back up with a book in her hands entitled "Legend of the Orokon". "Will this do?" she asked.

"Oh, that'll be perfect." Chainabel Lee took the book and handed over a few coins in payment. The red Pianta woman began to flip through the pages of her newly bought item. "You know, maybe your husband'll find the Orokon. They say there's a secret passageway leading to them somewhere in Gulpit Tunnel."

"R... Really?"

"Well, maybe. Listen, I'd like to sit and chat, but I got some important business to attend to. Raising Chain Chomps is no walk in the park, you know!"

"Alright. Have a nice day, then!" Before long, the woman was alone again. She propped her head up and started thinking some more.

_Maybe the Orokon know where our children went,_ she thought.

Meanwhile, Chainabel Lee was in the process of freeing her pet Chain Chomps from the pole. _So hard to raise,_ she thought, and she began walking her three vicious pets down the street of Gana Village. _I wonder how my sister does it..._

* * *

_One more left..._

Yazzee looked around. He was in the middle of Pianta Village, the section of Isle Delfino that was populated by Piantas and giant mushrooms. Lucky him, it was also populated by a red Pianta woman whose three Chain Chomplets had gone nuts, or rather encased in flames of fury. He looked around for the third one. Surprisingly, he found it rather close to where he was supposed to take it: the village's local hot spring.

The yellow Yoshi grabbed a nearby water barrel. He aimed it and fired it. SPLOOSH! It landed directly on the little Chain Chomp's head. It cooled the creature down, returning its color from a fiery red to a cold black. Yazzee pumped his right arm victoriusly. He ran up to the small beast, grabbed it by its chain tail and began pulling. Once he had it pulled back far enough, and once he had it aimed at what was evidently the right spot, he let go. CHING! CHING! CHING! The impact shot the metal thing forward and caused it to bounce around between two different walls like a pinball. Yazzee then heard a FWOOSH and a whining sound. He ran up to the hot springs and saw three grey chain tails sticking out of the small body of water. The yellow Yo'ster smiled to himself.

_Mission accomplished,_ he thought.

Then a red Pianta woman ran up from behind and threw her arms around the reptile. It nearly knocked the wind out of him. "Oh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! You saved my babies! I have to repay you. Come with me!"

The ecstatic woman began to practically drag the ill-fated Yo'ster across the assorted dirt roads of Pianta Village. Much to his surprise, she had led him to somewhere behind one of the town's palm trees. Lying in wait for them there was a box, very similar to the one the yellow man had encountered in Noki Bay, only this one was magenta and white rather than indigo and white. "Ooh!" he elicited excitedly.

"I don't really know what this is," the Chain Chomp-oriented woman began, "but something tells me it's valuable. I want you to have it."

"Thank you!" Yazzee obliged. The two of him and the Pianta woman said goodbye. Then the Yo'ster could return to minding this new box before him. He turned to SPOWT. "So, what is this thing?" he asked it.

_"That is the Jet Nozzle. Attach this to me, and you will be able to fly. You will also be able to carry up to twelve people at a time."_

"WOW!!..."

At this point, the red Pianta woman was staring at her three Chain Chomplets and how they were all lying face down in the steamy spring water. She shook her head. "Chainabel Lee, how do you do it?" she wondered aloud to herself. The red woman snapped out of her thoughts once she heard something big and loud ripping its way through the sky. She looked up and saw what it was: a gold mine with a pair of metallic wings. "What in the world?!"

Yazzee laughed to himself as he looked down upon Pianta Village. All of the colorful little Piantas there were looking up and pointing to him in amazement. He felt they had every right to do so. Whatever the Submarine Nozzle was, it was nothing compared to this. Yazzee thought of how increasingly lucky he had been ever since he found SPOWT as he flew through the sky. Yazzee smiled to himself as the wind whipped his face. It suddenly bore a look of great seriousness.

_That's right,_ he thought. _I should be heading back. Maybe those carrots have returned._ The airborne Yoshi silently bid farewell to Pianta Village and all of its awestricken inhabitants as he began to fly his way over the mountains of Isle Delfino. _I'll wait for them at Delfino Plaza. Most likely, they'll turn up there once they do..._

* * *

Carro, Boscis, and King Carrot were outside again. Behind them and in the middle of these woods just off the coast of Isle Delfino was their camouflaged base, Half Moon. The three of them had gotten their things together and were busy looking at the strange building.

"Boss," Carro stated, "you're sure we can go now?"

"Why not?" King Carrot rasped. "Boscis is back to normal. The base is all fixed up. We tied up ALL the loose ends. All we need now is to show that Yoshi who's the boss."

Carro nodded. "You're right boss."

"Alright, boys... Let's get outta here..."

The three carrots began to hover through the woods and drift further away from their secret base. Little did they know that they had missed two rather vital spots on it: two out of place-looking holes on the side that were shaped like Melon Bugs...

* * *

Deep inside Blifit's lair, Sackle and Crookie were still trapped inside of a strange cylinder of ice. However, they wouldn't be so for long. With a little help from their new friend, Crania, they had succeeded in digging quite the sizeable hole out of one of this cylinder's walls. Sackle had been using a philips head screwdriver, Crookie, a pair of wire cutters, and Crania, a wrench. All three of them had done an admirable job of transforming the one chunk missing from their wall into a potential escape route.

Currently, Sackle was hacking away at the ice and scraping off flakes of frosty dust as much as ever. Crookie, on the other hand, was doing it at a noticeably slower rate. Sackle sneered at him.

"Come on, Crookie, what's the hold up? Can't you go any faster than that?"

"Aw, come on, boss. We've been at it non-stop! Can't we take a break?"

"You can take a break," the blue-capped thief grumbled, "but I'm gonna stay here and show you how a REAL man goes about things!"

Crookie wiped sweat from his brow as he put down his cutters and stepped away from the hole. Crania did the same thing. "I'll be taking a break, too, boss," she said.

Sackle snorted. "Lazy bums..."

Moments after making himself comfortable on the stone ground, Crookie found a cherry flavored snow cone in front of his face. He looked into the face of the person holding it. He gladly took the frozen delicacy from her. "Aw, thanks," he said.

"No problem." Crania sat down as Crookie did and she began to munch on a snow cone of her own. She glanced at Sackle who was still relentlessly stabbing his screwdriver into the hole in the wall. "Is he always like this?" she asked.

"Yeah, but..." Crookie took a bite of his diminutive meal. "You get used to it."

"How did you two first meet, anyway?"

"Well... I'm actually from Thornton, the city of roses. It's in Mario Land somewhere. I had a job there, you know. I worked for a man named Mac Rozone. Rumor had it, he was the richest man there, aside from the king and queen, of course. He was a superhero. He'd do all kinds of incredible things, from beating up bad guys to getting things for people... for money.

"He had a nice, big fancy mansion. It came with a cafetaria, a museum, and a resort. He had all these servants and butlers that'd do stuff for him. He even had a bunch of robot ants. I... was his janitor.

"Countless times, I swept the hallways, dusted the furniture, and cleaned the swimming pool. Occasionally, me and a friend of mine, Croof, would sneak into the kitchen and snag some snacks. Other times, we'd just hide somewhere and smoke cigarettes.

"Sounds like my kind of place, right? Sounds like Mac just had it all, right? Sure, I got to spend a lot of my time in this big shot place, but the guy was like a communist. He'd never give anyone any raises no matter what. In fact, this one time, a storm hit. All of the lights went out. Worse than that, everything that was remotely electronic in the house stopped working, even the ants. Everyone panicked. I was the only one who was able to find the right wires, push the right buttons, and get everything going again. It wasn't just Croof who was amazed; I won EVERYONE'S respect. I was their hero! Did Mac give me a raise? No. Did he give me a promotion? No. He just gave me a pat on the back and told me to keep up the good work. Pah!

"Croof was more sympathetic to me than anyone. He said that if there was anyone out there who deserved more than we did, it was us... and, by golly, we were gonna get it.

"He had a plan. He said we were going to kill two birds with one stone. We were going to make life start being easier for us, and give Mac what was coming to him. He said there was a better rich guy in the Beanbean Kingdom named Boddle. He liked to collect dolls, but he was still a great guy. All me and Croof had to do was get past Mac somehow.

"We decided to take one of his Volit Ants, one of his giant robot ants that could fly. Croof said Mac had so many of them, he wouldn't notice if one went missing, and if he did, it serves him right. The only problem was, Croof was mechanically impaired. Fortunately, he had ME around. People always said I had a way with technology...

"Anyway, we decided to strike once night fell. Not only was everyone asleep by then; Mac had gone off to a meeting with the king and queen, who wanted him to get something for them, and he hadn't come home yet.

"Once the time was right, we snuck into his big fancy garage, found the Volit Ant we wanted, and hopped in. I got the pilot seat, Croof got the co-pilot seat. We strapped ourselves in and got ready for take-off. I pushed the button, and we were off! It was amazing. All six of the thing's huge legs were scuttling back and forth. We were zooming out of the place at what must have been--I don't know--100 MPH, or something. I'm tellin' ya, it was amazing.

"Then came the BEST part: we were flying! It was flapping its wings and everything. We were out of there and into the sky before we even knew it. We could taste the Beanbean Kingdom already..."

Crookie sighed. Crania looked at him a bit worriedly. "Then what happened?" she asked.

"Well... We didn't make it. It turned out Mac just had to show up right in the nick of time. Seeing how one of his precious Volit Ants was being stolen, he got a whole bunch of his other ants together--the ones with cannons on their heads--and BAM! We were shot down.

"Well, I survived the crash, but Croof wasn't so lucky. There was blood coming out of his mouth and everything. I tried shaking him and telling him to snap out of it, but it was no use. Mac told me to get my butt out there. He told me he had a feeling it was me. He told me he never liked me anyway and that all I did was cause trouble. He also told me that... getting the Kreer Sphere, or whatever... wasn't going to be easy and that he may as well get some practice done.

"He told me to say my prayers. I prayed for someone to come and help me. ANYONE." Crookie laughed. "You know what happened next? This hole opens up in midair right next to me and POOF! HE pops out." Crookie gestured to the blue-capped thief who was still chiseling away at the hole. "I'm confused. EVERYONE'S confused. Even him. He turns to me and says, 'What's going on? Where am I?'

"I tell him, 'What does it matter?! They're gonna kill me! You gotta save me!!'

"He tells me, 'Alright, but it'll cost ya.' Then he whips out a bunch of knives and starts cutting up all those ants. Man, you should've seen it. Those guys didn't stand a chance! But, for some reason, once they were all down, and once Mac Rozone turned to him and said 'You've still got me', he said 'Not this again', grabbed me by my collar roots, and dragged me over to some of Mac's cannons. We jumped in them, and we were off. That wasn't so great.

"Later, we're far away from Mac, and Sackle tells me he's met that guy before. It turns out he and Blifit once tried to get this one doll from him and..." Crookie shook his head and waved his hand. "Well... That's another story.

"Anyway, he tells me, to repay him, I'll have to become his new partner. I said I wasn't too sure about it. He told me he wasn't facing Boddle alone. Then I perked up and agreed to his terms.

"We got to the guy's place via one of the giant snot bubbles of Mario Land's hippo statue. Did you know you can ride those things? Anyway, once we got there, Sackle told the guy what happened before he materialized in Thornton. To put it shortly, throughout the War of the Shy Gang, he and Blifit had been chasing down these two witches, and now he had no idea where they had gone to. Boddle told him not to worry since, last he checked, they were on their way to Yoshi's Island. He told us that all we had to do was find them, get the doll from them, and he'd pay us 5,000,000,000 coins for it."

Crania whistled. "That's a lot of money... For one doll?"

"Oh, yeah. We'd do ANYTHING for that kind of money..." Crookie had finished consuming his snow cone. He began licking away at the red juice that was still swimming around in its cardboard container. He smacked his lips and continued. "Well, we've been together ever since. Getting to Yoshi's Island wasn't easy. Leaving it wasn't easy." Crookie laughed and whistled, almost while imitating Crania. "Let's just say we don't have a single clue where the doll is now. It could be on top of some mountain somewhere, for all we care."

Crookie began looking into his empty cone with one eye as though it were a telescope. Crania started nodding. The instant she did so, the two of them heard a loud FOOMF. They turned their heads to the left and saw Sackle slide out of the hole in the wall as though it were playground equipment. "Hey, you mugs, what are you doing just sitting around for? I completed the hole! Let's get the hell out of here!!"

Crookie and Crania said "Alright" and tossed their snow cones aside. Crania picked up her toolbox. She put away her wrench as well as her screwdriver and her wire cutters as Sackle and Crookie handed them to her. Then they filed into the hole and jumped out of it from the other side, one by one. It was revealed their icy cylinder of a prison had been in one of the many circular, stone rooms the underground cave's numerous passages branched out to. Crookie and Crania looked around, but Sackle just looked straight ahead, straight at the only doorway leading out of this room. He gestured to the others.

"Well, come on," he said. "The surface awaits!" The thief's two partners nodded and took after him as he started running through the cave. Their oddyssey through the maze-like underground lair of the once sane Blifit had begun...

* * *

"A mountain?!"

"Yes, sir, but not just any mountain..."

Tito was back in the main circular room. The same purple alien that had informed him of it earlier when the ship had landed amidst a world of brass was telling him of their new location.

"According to this," the alien minion said, gesturing to his computer screen, "we are in the center of the Ring of Dheos. Lord knows what could happen here."

"And I'm not gonna risk it," Tito grumbled with a furled brow. He stepped back and gave an exasperated sigh. "Wart! Katana!" The frog and the silver man immediately showed up behind him. The purple captain turned around with his hands folded behind his back. "Gather 100 of our best men. I want you to start heading for Delfino Plaza. On the side of Corona Mountain there, there's a portal that will take you to the moon. In order to get out of this place as soon as possible, we'll need four stones to replace the ones that bastard took from us..." The brutal alien winced as he reflected back upon the previous occurrences. He got himself back together and continued with the instructions. "A Moon Rock, a Rag Rock, a Special Rock, and a Rainbow Rock; get one of each of those, then head straight back. I'm not sure for how much longer we can keep Smithy waiting..."

Wart and Katana gave their captain a "Yes sir", and they started heading out the door. Tito watched them go, a stern look on his face.

_Conquering this planet,_ he thought, _will be no easy task..._

* * *

Up on top of the mountain of Belome Rock somewhere, a certain four-eyed, dog-like creature was busy lying on his back, happily looking up at the clouds. He was being very absentminded and carefree.

"Oh, they're so fluffy today," he mused to himself. He extended one of his bear-like arms and began to point at certain locations in the sky. "That one looks like a flower," he said, "and that one looks like a hamster!" Next, the man pointed to a cloud that looked as though it had a long, canine nose and some pointy ears. "And that one... looks just like that one nice lady I met earlier..." The resident of Belome Rock breathed a sigh. "I feel," he started, "like everything's been going alright ever since I met her... Her and her friends. I feel like they're really going to help us out, that everything's gonna be okay from now on." The peaceful creature closed his eyes in a very laidback manner. "I feel like I could just lay down, just like this, forever..."

"You'd like that? 'Cause I can give it to you. Hee hee hee!"

The guardian of Belome Rock jerked his head up. Much to his surprise, he had another visitor. This one had his arms folded. He and the guardian of this mountain bore a rather strong resemblance to each other. The one with blue marks on his face looked alarmed. "Wh-Who are you?"

Belome smirked. "Can't you tell? I'm you! But that's impossible, isn't it? We very well can't be having TWO Belomes, now can we? One of us has got to go, and, here's a hint: it's not gonna be me."

The threatened one cursed to himself. He should have known that the minute he let his guard down, something like this would happen. Normally, he'd just back into a corner somewhere and hope all goes well, but this time, it wasn't going to be like that. The real Belome figured that, if those people he met earlier could stand up to jerks like this, so could he.

He got up off the ground with his fists by his side. He stared down the fake Belome. "Listen," he said, "you'd best leave here at once. I don't want to have to do anything to you."

The fake Belome just laughed. "Are you really that tough? I don't think you are. Allow me to prove it. GET'IM, BOYS!!" The unwanted guest swung an arm forward, and the real Belome was shocked by what happened next. A whole army of countless bug-like things spilled out from behind the fake Belome and began to surround the real one. The real Belome looked around at all of them and the axes in their hands. He was confused and a bit scared, but he couldn't let it end here.

The real Belome scowled, raised his fists, and rushed into the fray. This instantly got the battle going. Everywhere, punches were being thrown and axes were being swung. The real Belome kept twisting and turning like crazy, trying as hard as he could to get in as many hits as possible. He punched, he kicked, he slapped Shoguns' heads in with his huge tongue... He'd even send blobs of saliva flying at them, if not blue laser beams from above. He was able to fell a good few of the bugs this way. Unfortunately, the Shoguns had a few tricks of their own. They were biting him, clawing at him, and hacking away at him with their axes. More and more bloody gashes were starting to show up on him, but the real Belome refused to give in. He continued to fight and impede on these monsters' actions.

The real Belome fought as though the fate of the world rested on the outcome of this battle. He punched, kicked, dodged, and pulled out his tricks on these beasts. His will was as unstoppable as a flood, yet, the more he fought, the harder it got to do so. Gradually, the real Belome began to feel as though he were moving through a swamp. The fake Belome just smirked at him as he realized what was going on: instead of attacking him, the Shoguns were latching onto him. They had shackled his legs and were going for his arms. In their desperation, they were even latching onto each other, weighing down the helpless Belome even more. He gritted his teeth and struggled to break free from their grasp, but it was no use.

In time, the gremlins had him on his back. He was unable to do much more than grimace and make his fists tremble. The fake Belome slowly walked up to him. "I've got you right where I want you, my little hors o'doeuvre," he chided.

"What are you going to do??" the real Belome rasped.

"Well... I'd eat you, but that'd be like eating me, and that'd be a bit too weird for my tastes, so..."

The fake Belome whipped out a sharp object. The real Belome recognized it as the knife the leader of the Cutchyas had earlier. How had he gotten it?

"By the way," the fake Belome continued, "you DO know what voodoo dolls are for, don't you?" The real Belome stopped squirming for one second. He cocked an eyebrow at his enemy. The fake one ignored him. "Well... Goodbye." SHUNK! The fake Belome jammed the knife right into his chest. For one split second, the real one was utterly confused by this, but then he started feeling an indescribable pain in his chest. It felt like there was a fire burning him to ashes from the inside out. His heart had been punctured.

Everything was turning red for the real Belome as these few events suddenly started to make everything fall into place. He finally realized why he felt as though he were being gunned down by a barrage of some strange energy some time ago. _Th-That's why,_ he thought darkly, _it hurt... so much..._

The real Belome's eyes rolled up into his head. His eyelids fluttered and closed. They stayed that way.

The Shoguns that had submissed him had gotten off of him, allowing his body to flop onto the ground. The fake Belome pulled the knife out of his chest. There was no blood on it. "Well, now that that's taken care of..." He tossed the blade aside and faced his subjects. "Alright, boys, take him away!" The Shoguns all saluted their master and began to roll the real Belome's lifeless body to the edge of the mountain. The fake Belome watched for one second and turned away. He started walking around slowly, gazing at the blue sky. "Hee hee hee!" he laughed. "This is great! I've got a bunch of loyal servants, I'm as healthy as a horse... In fact, I can't die... I've got a place of my own now, and there's a whole world out there full of tasty food I haven't tried yet!" Belome spread his arms out wide and raised his voice. "Truly, this is my lucky day! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"

The fake Belome's laughter echoed throughout the mountains as the real Belome's bloody body tumbled down the side of it, never to make it to the top again. A new Belome had taken his place, unaware of how he had just made Belome Rock even worse...

* * *

Somewhere in the Clover Kingdom was a mass collection of trees. Walking through it was a set of four people consisting of Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif. Soon, they'd be able to get out of the shade of the leaves and back into the sunlight.

"We're almost there," Leif stated. He was the first to emerge from the forest. He stood defiantly on a dirt path and waited for his other three companions to exit it as well. When Xoshi walked out of it, he was sweeping dust off of him. White Rose was pulling twigs off of his sleeves, and Davey was getting some leaves out of his hair.

"So, uh, Leif, where's this?" the boy asked.

"Steen Stream," said the Viking as everyone began looking at the town before them. Leif was starting to walk towards it slowly. "A place that embraces the fighting spirit and-" The Marinotropolan suddenly stopped walking, just when the others started following him again. The huge, hairy man knelt down and started scanning the dirt-covered ground, almost as though he had lost a contact lens.

"Sir Leif, is everything alright?" White Rose asked.

"It's... fine," the Viking replied. He waved his hand in the direction of the village. "You all go on ahead. I'll catch up to you."

Xoshi, Davey, and White Rose nodded to their fourth party member and began to do as he said. "What do you think his problem was?" Davey asked.

"I can't say," White Rose responded, "but I'm not one to meddle in others' affairs." The trio walked on. Once they reached the arch of Steen Stream's opening bridge, they were greeted by one of its little Steens.

"Welcome to Steen Stream!" he said. "We seldom get visitors here, but, if there's anything we could do for you, just ask."

"Well," White Rose said, cathing a bit of deja vu, "we're looking for a dog-like being who may have passed through here earlier with a slew of ants. Can you help us with this?"

The Steen nodded. "I know who you're talking about. This guy came by here earlier. He just muttered something about a bunch of people being too small to eat, and he headed for that mountain over there." The Steen pointed to the humungous rock in the distance with moss all over it. "If you're gonna climb that thing, be careful. The Steenix might get you."

Davey looked perplexed. "The Steenix?" he asked.

"It's a giant bird with four wings. We don't quite understand it ourselves. It only started living here a few days ago. All we know is that it's very dangerous."

Davey scratched his chin. "A bird, huh?"

"Yes. Anyway, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"That'll be all, thank you," White Rose answered. "Good day."

The Steen nodded. Xoshi, Davey, and White Rose walked past him and started navigating their ways through this river-based town. Meanwhile, Leif was still examining the spot of ground he had stumbled upon previously for whatever reason. The Viking gave it one good, long stare with one eye open as though it were a jewel. He withdrew an index finger and wiped some dust off of it. He placed it beneath his nostrils and took in its scent. He closed his eyes and thought hard.

_Two witches have been here recently,_ he concluded. _One of them, a summoner of Wigglers. The other, a shape shifter. Their intentions, I do not know... but perhaps now is not the time for such things..._

The Viking blew the dust off of his finger. He got off the ground and started walking towards Steen Stream. Once he arrived there, like his teammates did, he was greeted by a lone Steen. "If there's anything we could do for you, just ask."

"My friends were just here a moment ago, were they not? They were a brown Yoshi, a swordsman, and a young boy. Could you point me in their direction, please?"

The Steen did as he was asked. "They're headed for Belome Rock. Just watch out for the Steenix."

"Thank you," the Viking quipped. "Oh, and one other thing," he added. "Out of curiosity... have two witches been here recently?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. There was. There was this crazy one named Larva and this shadowy one named Annabyss. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," Leif stated. "I just have a feeling I may have business with them sooner or later."

"Oh, okay."

The fish man and the Steen said goodbye to each other. Leif started thinking to himself again as he began to make his way through this village. _Larva and Annabyss,_ he speculated, _if the Star Spirits so wish it... I will kill you..._

* * *

Two purple space aliens were on the spaceship somewhere. They were in the exercise room along with a whole bunch of other aliens wearing the same silver and white uniforms as them. Both were in front of a pair of punching bags swaying gently as they hung from the ceiling. One of the aliens was short and stubby. The other was huge, muscular, hulking, and with messy dark purple hair. The huge one said, "Duh, watch this, Tapoleon." The little one watched as his training partner started spinning his right arm around. Once he was done getting it ready, he threw the punch. WHAM!! The blow was so heavy, it broke the punching bag in half, sending bits of styrofoam flying everywhere. Some of the aliens complained as the stuff started raining on them. The humungous, Neanderthal-like alien watched in triumph as the remaining half of the punching bag swung back and forth in the air. "See that?" said the ogre. "I'm strong, huh?"

The smaller alien waved a hand to belittle the feat of strength. "Pish-tosh, Toonga. In order to be a true warrior of the galaxy, you're going to need a lot more than brute strength..." The dwarfish alien began to dance back and forth as he looked at the remaining punching bag from different angles. "You need strategy and tactics." The tiny alien pulled out a notepad and began scribbling down something while occasionally glancing up at his target. "You need to get to know your enemy." The alien reached up and started picking at the plastic coating from the underside of the punching bag. "And when he's least suspecting it..."

Toonga looked around. Tapoleon had enigmatically disappeared. He reappeared once he poked his head out from behind a machine that a different purple alien was building up his arms with. The miniscule alien suddenly leapt through the air like a panther. "ATTTAAACCKK!!!" He latched onto the swaying punching bag and started sinking his teeth into it.

Toonga looked at him as though he were crazy. "That's stupid. Why don't you just kill it?"

"Ha gung ger wugga mumph ger," Tapoleon replied.

Toonga didn't get a word of that. He would have started thinking up a translation in his head had a certain other purple space alien not have run up to the duo. It was the messenger that was always telling Tito things. Upon seeing his arrival, Tapoleon took his mouth off the punching bag and hopped down, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"Ah, Tobi," the little alien said. "What brings you here?"

The alien named Tobi gave a salute. "Wart and Katana request your immediate presence. They want you and a few others to accompany them on a mission to the moon."

Toonga put on a simple-minded grin. "Duh, I guess that makes us pretty special, huh, Tapoleon?"

"Yes, quite. Well then, shall we be going now?" Tapoleon replied.

"Duh, okay!!" With that, the two aliens left the room. In a moment, Tobi did as well. He ran off in a different direction, having many more aliens to catch up with...

In another room, a muscular purple space alien wearing one of the higher ranking, striped uniforms was standing in front of a table with an empty can on it. The room had a futuristic-looking bed built into the wall as well as some shelves. There was some odd-looking pieces of furniture, too, but the alien in it definitely wasn't relaxing. His eyes were closed and he looked to be concentrating heavily.

_A true sharpshooter is aware of his surroundings at all times,_ the alien thought. _The buzzing of the lights... The humming of electricity... Even pure silence... If even the slightest little detail goes unnoticed, it could be deadly..._ The alien strummed his fingers against the weapon holstered on his right hip. _For a true sharpshooter... has no competition._ In one instant, the alien pulled out his laser pistol, and fired. TSEWW!! The can behind him flew off the table. It clattered to the ground with a round, steaming hole in it. Without even turning around to witness his handiwork, the alien raised the gun to his lips and blew. _A true sharpshooter must be deadlier than anything..._

Wart was standing in the doorway. What mattered to him was not how this alien managed to put a hole in a can he wasn't even facing let alone looking at, but something else. The giant frog cleared his throat to grab the purple alien's attention. This it did, but the alien didn't look at him.

"You want something, Wart?"

_"WE HAVE WORK TO DO."_

The purple alien slowly opened his eyes and looked at the overgrown amphibian. "Really..."

In front of one of the elevators of the ship was a frog wearing the same uniform as that of the alien that Wart was talking to. He was looking very frustrated. He bore a scowl on his face and he was tapping his foot.

_"COME ON, YOU STUPID THING,"_ he grumbled. At some point, impatience got the best of him, and he started stabbing the button next to the elevator with his finger repeatedly. _"COME ON, COME ON, COME ON..."_

At some point, the elevator finally got down to business. It made a ding sound and the doors slid open.

_"FINALLY!!"_ the frog practically yelled. Once the doors were open though, he lost it, for he could clearly see the cables sticking out of the top of the miniature room inside this thing. The elevator had only made it halfway up. _"YOU STUPID PIECE OF CRAP!!"_

The frog grabbed a hold of the top of the faulty elevator and pulled hard. In the next second, with a small explosion of metal fragments flying everywhere, the amphibian had the entire box of an elevator and its snapped cables in his upraised arms. He was screaming in a very primal fashion. He stopped once he heard a meek "Ahem" behind him. He turned around and yelled.

_"WHAT?!"_

It was Tobi. The unfortunate alien was looking very intimidated. "U-Um," he stammered.

_"WHAT DO YOU WANT?! SPIT IT OUT! DON'T MAKE ME USE THIS!!"_

"Um, um, um..."

In the hallway that Tito was intoxicating himself in on an earlier occasion was the same frog that was there at the time. With a bottle of something strong in one hand, he was trying to do the same thing all over again. All the while, he was singing some nonsensical tune. _"STARSHINE, YOU ARE MY STARSHINE. YOU'RE LIKE A DOUGHNUT THAT WON'T PAY ITS TAXES. HIC "_

The frog raised the bottle to his lips again. Before the next drop of his controversial beverage could land on his tongue, the bottle inexplicably disappeared.

_"DARCIE, COME BACK!! YOU KNOW I'D NEVER HURT YA..."_

_"STILL YOUR TONGUE, WARTINI,"_ a different frog said. It was Wart. A bottle of some questionable liquid was in his left hand. _"WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU."_

_"IT'S NOT IMPORTED; IT'S LOCAL. WHY WOULD I DRINK ANYTHING ELSE?!..."_

In the cafetaria of the spaceship, numerous assorted space aliens were sitting down at various tables, eating stuff. Two of them consisted of two high-ranking, silver aliens: one with a big, white mustache and one with a purple hood.

"I don't care what anyone says," said the mustachioed one, "Smithy is way better than Tito. Always was, always will be."

"You got that right," said the purple-hooded alien. They continued eating for a few seconds more. Then Katana walked up from behind them.

"Slicer Cloaker and Dicer Domino," he said, "the two of you are to join me and Wart on a mission to the moon. We'll all meet at the exit in about an hour." Katana looked around. Whatever it was he was seeking out, he couldn't find it. "Say, where's Baton?"

"Didn't you hear?" Domino piped up. "That purple Yoshi killed him. They say he got him with a water spell in the gut."

Katana began to scratch his chin. "Ah, yes. What a way to go," he mused. "In any case, I expect you to be prepared. Can you promise me that?"

"Sure thing," Cloaker and Domino said in unison.

"Good." Katana turned and left, leaving the other two silver aliens to finish their meal. He had about a dozen more aliens to round up, as did Wart and Tobi. It went on like this for quite a while. Eventually, their efforts paid off. Exactly 100 aliens had gathered in the big room with the ramp in it. They had gotten into three rows of 33; one of purple aliens, one of silver ones, and one of frogs. The purples were led by Trigg, the alien with the laser pistol. Tobi, Toonga, and Tapoleon were right behind him. The silvers were led by Katana. Cloaker and Domino were right behind him. The frogs were led by Welt, the one who destroyed the elevator. Wartini was right behind him. No bottle of any substance was with him. He looked annoyed.

Wart was walking up and down the hall, examining the rows of soldiers he had. After a while, he finally stopped and faced them, getting a speech going. _"LISTEN UP,"_ he called out. _"THESE PAST FEW DAYS, THE GODDESS OF LUCK MAY HAVE BEEN TURNING A BLIND EYE TOWARDS US. WE MAY HAVE BEEN SHOT OUT OF THE SKY, WE MAY HAVE BEEN SUCKED INTO ANOTHER DIMENSION, AND WE MAY HAVE GOTTEN OUR REACTOR STONES TAKEN AWAY FROM US... BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS BECAUSE WE ARE BETTER THAN ANY GOD! ANY OBSTACLE THAT GETS IN OUR WAY, WE WILL OVERCOME IT. ANY ENEMY THAT DARES STAND BEFORE US, WE WILL STRIKE IT DOWN. WE KNOW NO FEAR, WE KNOW NO DEFEAT. ONLY VICTORY AWAITS US. WE MUST SET FORTH ONTO THIS PLANET'S SOIL. WE MUST TAKE OUR TRAVELS TO THE FURTHEST REACHES OF THE SKY, FOR THE KEY TO DOMINATING THIS WORLD RESTS THERE, AND ONLY WE MAY LAY OUR HANDS ON IT..."_ Wart threw his fist up into the air. _"FOR WE ARE THE GONNIC GANG, THE SCOURGE OF THE GALAXY!!"_

An ear-splitting cheer burst forth from the aliens. Wart had succeeded greatly in boosting their morale. The ramp lowered as the enormous frog turned around and swung one arm forward, signaling for the others to follow him. In the back of the room, Tito and one other, Wrench, watched as these people all marched down the ramp and onto the dusty ground of the vast, barren field within the Ring of Dheos.

"Do you think they'll really be okay, sir?" Wrench asked.

"Why not?" Tito scoffed. "I didn't make him my right-hand for nothing, you know." The two aliens continued to watch as the last of the marching soldiers walked off the ramp, thus allowing it lift its way back into the ship. "Besides," Tito went on, "he and I are evenly matched..."

* * *

Two Yoshies were seeing off three others. This scene was taking place at the same one where they got to bid farewell to Raphael. This time, though, the ones that were leaving were Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy. The ones that were saying goodbye to them were Ebony and Ivory.

"My brothers, are you truly sure you wish to do this?" Ivory said.

Fyooshi nodded. "I'm sure. It's the only way I'll really be able to figure all of this out."

"It's a dangerous world out there," Ebony added. "You might have to slit a few throats. You sure you won't be needing our help?"

"Trust me, Yoshi and Glishy are all the help I'll need on this journey. Besides, ever since the Melon Bug incident, I've been meaning to hone my skills. Plus, someone needs to stay behind and defend the village. I think you guys are perfect for the job."

Ivory gave a nod. "You speak the truth, my friend."

Fyooshi smiled. "Alright then," he said. "Well, see ya."

The five Yoshies waved to each other as they went their separate ways. Ebony and Ivory returned to the village and Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy headed into the Jade Jungle. Their quest to find Raphael had begun.

On the way there, Glishy began to think to himself while keeping one eye on his magenta-colored friend. _That funny guy,_ he thought. _Already he's starting to sound like a leader..._

* * *

At this point, the aliens had gotten their ways across the field within the Ring of Dheos and reached the actual mountain itself. The entire group of extraterrestrials had commenced climbing up the colossal thing. To pass the time, Katana was telling Wart a story of his.

"Which was one of the roughest battles I've ever had to win," he finished. He looked to the giant amphibian as the two of them continued to crawl their ways up this gigantic wall of nature. "How about you, Wart? Any anecdotes you'd like to share back?"

Wart immediately leapt into it. _"IT HAPPENED ONE YEAR AGO. WE WERE STILL GETTING STRONG PEOPLE TO HYPNOTIZE. ONE PLACE WE STOPPED BY WAS A CITY OF VEGETABLE PEOPLE. WE LANDED AND ATTACKED. TOMATOES AND GIANT EARS OF CORN FOUGHT BACK, BUT THEY WEREN'T ALONE. OTHERS OF OTHER RACES WERE THERE AS WELL, THOUGH I CAN'T SAY WHY. TRIGG FOUGHT AN 8-BIT AND I FOUGHT A CARROT WITH A RED CROWN. I MUST ADMIT, HE WAS A FORMIDABLE OPPONENT, BUT NOT FORMIDABLE ENOUGH. I DID QUICK WORK OF HIM ONCE I LASHED MY TONGUE OUT AT HIM AND SWALLOWED HIM. ONE OTHER CARROT RAN UP, CALLING OUT HIS NAME. HAD I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE, I'D HAVE DONE THE SAME TO HIM._

_"ALAS, IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE. WE FLED TO THE SHIP AND TOOK OFF, TAKING WITH US A NEW SET OF MINIONS. INEXPLICABLY, A STRANGE EXPLOSION OCCURRED IN THE CITY ONCE WE DID, ITS CAUSES UKNOWN. I'D LIKE TO SAY IT WAS A TRIUMPH ON OUR PART, BUT I FELL GRAVELY ILL IN SHORT TIME. WHEN THE SHIP'S DOCTORS EXAMINED ME, THEY SAID I SHOULDN'T HAVE EATEN THAT CARROT. IT TOOK ME DAYS TO RECOVER. A BATTLE FOUGHT HARD, AND WON HARD."_

"Hmm," Katana hummed. "You know, I think I may recall having heard of something like that happening."

_"INDEED."_

The two high ranking aliens probably would have talked a bit more, but when the silver one looked up and caught sight of something rather interesting, he couldn't let it go. "Wart," he said, "what is that on the top of the mountain?"

_"A TEMPLE, MOST LIKELY,"_ the frog replied. _"WE WON'T TRULY KNOW UNTIL WE GET THERE."_

"But of course..." Thus the aliens continued to reach for the top of this natural phenomenon, knowing full well that something of interest was definitely awaiting them there...

* * *

Xoshi, Davey, and White Rose were ascending the moss covered mountain of Belome Rock, although they were doing so without Leif. However, they were sure of the fact he'd catch up in time, so they had other things on their minds. Davey started a conversation with White Rose.

"You should know, I find all this ironic," the boy said.

"Why is that, Sir Davey?" the white knight replied.

"Ever since he was a child, Chogun's had this fear of dogs. Years later, a dog turns out to be his only hope, and a dog takes it away from him." The young boy scoffed.

"A fear of dogs, hm?"

"Yes. He told me about it once. It happened one time in his hometown, a village in Grass Land. He was into treasure hunting then, and he still is now. One day, though, it got the best of him. He heard there was a treasure chest buried in the middle of the town's local field of weeds. His neighbors tried warning him. They tried telling him it was the backyard of the local psycho, but he went there anyway. Sure enough, the instant he made it there, he was attacked. The territorial guy unleashed his mob of rottweilers on the poor kid. They started ripping him apart. He still has the scars from it.

"Lucky for him, he was saved. Now, mind you, not even he's sure about this part himself, but he says it was thanks to a man with gossamer wings coming out of his back, some weird armor that made him look like a giant ant, and an axe. Once he led him to safety, he told him, 'Some things, you just gotta be ready for.' When Chogun asked him who he was, he simply said, 'A man who just doesn't like to see people suffer,' and he flew away. Chogun never saw him again."

"Interesting tale," White Rose mused.

"Yeah. You can see why he keeps saying he's afraid of dogs. Also, you can see where he got the idea of wearing the armor and the axe." Davey paused and scratched the back of his head as he climbed. "I guess you could say it's also pretty ironic that both he and his enemies have become what saved his life."

White Rose looked quizzical. "Ants?"

"Yeah, it's a long story. You see, this green thing came out of the sky one day..."

It had taken a while for him to do so, but Leif was finally able to reach the top of the first part of the mountain. "Oi," he sighed. "Such labor..." The Viking looked up to see how much further he had to go. Once he did so, he spotted three specks up there that looked faintly like his partners. "Aha..." The Marinotropolan would have called out to them, but surprise cut him off. He could suddenly see that the three of his comrades had a severe amount of trouble on their hands. What appeared to be some sort of giant green bird had shown up out of nowhere and commenced firing white lasers at them from its eyes. The Viking saw some explosions erupt near his friends and he began to scramble up the mountain even further. He hoped and prayed for the safety of his companions...

"What the heck is that thing?!" Xoshi yelled, staring at the giant bird circling them overhead.

"The Steenix, no doubt," White Rose responded, as he struggled to reach for his sword and cling to the mountain at the same time. "Perhaps we can..."

"Wait!!" Davey yelled. Xoshi and White Rose immediately halted their actions and looked at the boy. He glanced back at them in return, then looked at the bird, straight in the eye. His two friends stared at him in astonishment over what he was doing: Davey was puckering his lips and making an extremely strange, almost haunting noise come out of them. What surprised Xoshi and White Rose even further is that this got the humungous bird to stop circling them and start looking right back at Davey.

"What the...?" Xoshi uttered.

"Strange things in this world," White Rose mumbled. The two of them watched as Davey and this monstrous bird started taking turns making unusual noises at each other. After a while of this, Davey could finally cease this uncommon activity and start explaining things to his companions.

"It's just barely sentient," he said. "I was able to make out that it kind of recognizes you, Xoshi."

Xoshi looked perplexed. He couldn't think of any other birds he knew besides Storko, and this most certainly wasn't him.

"It also says there are intruders on its mountain." In the next instant, the tremendous bird had swooped down beneath the mountain climbing trio. All three of them looked down upon it, but Davey was the first to release his hold of the mountain, leap off, and land right on the fowl's back. Xoshi's jaw dropped at the sight of this and White Rose merely became wide-eyed. "I promised it we'd help it get rid of its intruders if it helped us reach the top of this mountain," the boy called. "You guys comin'?"

Xoshi and White Rose looked at each other. They looked at the overgrown bird's back, decided to take a chance, and leapt off. In seconds, the feathered beast had three passengers on its back. The brown Yoshi and the white knight watched as Davey started exchanging more strange sounds with their new method of transportation. Once it was over, the fowl took a dive. The three people on its back held on tight.

_So he can communicate with birds,_ Xoshi thought. _You weren't lying when they said they weren't ordinary people._

_I know..._

Leif continued to scramble his way up the mountain. He was completey incapable of getting it out of his head that his friends were in danger. _Xoshi, Davey, White Rose,_ he thought, _hold on. Just hold-_

The Viking suddenly heard an unwordly screech from behind him. He turned his head around to see that, of all things, it was his friends, and they were riding that bird that was attacking them earlier. "What in-"

"Leif!!" Xoshi called out. "It's okay! Just hop on!"

White Rose noticed how the mace wielding man had a reaction that was very similar to his before he decided to do such a thing. In due time though, he did it, and all four people were on the bird's back. Xoshi noticed how the Viking was just as amazed by all this as he was. The Yo'ster laughed a bit and floated his eyes upward in thought.

_I wonder what the other four guys are capable of,_ he pondered. Regardless, the four of him and his friends continued to ride their ways to the peak of Belome Rock on the back of the Steenix...

* * *

Meanwhile, in two different parts of Isle Delfino, two parties were headed for the same destination. One of them, a Yoshi with a machine strapped to his back, and the other, a three-some of some devious carrots. Both of their leaders were having thoughts of pure determination running through their heads.

_King Carrot,_ the yellow Yo'ster thought, _I'll beat you and make Yo'ster Isle proud..._

_I'll make you pay for last time's humiliation,_ thought the boss of the carrots. _I'll show you that I'm more than any gambler can handle..._

With their proud internal declarations out of the way, both gamblers continued their journeys, thinking of little else than the showdown that was just around the corner...

* * *

Belome was enjoying himself on the top of his new abode. Like a bunch of cheerleaders, a few of his Shogun servants had gotten themselves into a certain arrangement. Their master was sitting atop them like the makeshift throne they had become. The others were marching around in front of him with their axes upraised like the mindless drones that they were. Belome watched them in satisfaction and sighed.

"This is great," he said to himself. "I've got all these servants, and I've got this huge place all to myself. I feel like a king! And pretty soon I'll be EATING like a king, too. Hee hee hee!"

Belome tilted his head back and closed his eyes dreamily. Unfortunately for him, his state of bliss was interrupted by a loud, unwordly, demonic shriek. He jolted and snapped his eyes open. Directly above him, he could see there was a humungous green bird circling around in the sky. The peckish dog rubbed his hands together.

"What'd I tell ya..." The canine fixed his gaze upon the aerial monster and raised his arms. He was about to cast a spell on this new enemy, but three things suddenly leapt off of it. Belome watched as three blurs landed on the ground right in front of him. When they stood up, they revealed themselves to be the Yoshi, the knight, and the Viking he met earlier. Belome was infuriated. "YOU!!" he yelled, pointing at them accusingly. "How many times do you have to keep-" The dog stopped himself mid-sentence and started looking around. "Say, where'd that one little guy go, anyway? Not that it matters..." Belome pointed at his three adversaries again with one hand and turned his other into a shaking fist. "SHOGUNS!! ATTAAACCKK!!"

The army of Shoguns behind their master's trio of intruders stopped marching, saluted him, and ran to their three new opponents. Almost in perfect synchronization, White Rose and Leif pulled out their wands, and Xoshi made claw shapes out of his fingers. When the army of Shoguns leapt upon them, Belome's jaw nearly hit the floor. All he saw was a humungous explosion of red, gold, and green lights. The Shoguns went flying from the scene like pieces of popcorn, all of them with assorted injuries. They had been burned, decapitated, and torn from their limbs. When it started raining dead bodies, Belome half expected to see three people standing in the middle of it all in stylish poses, but no one was there. Belome was confused.

"Wh... Where'd they-"

WHAM!!! Belome felt as though three big, heavy rhinos had just slammed into him from behind. He sprawled across the moss covered ground for about one second, and then landed on his back. Xoshi and White Rose were pinning his legs to the ground, and Leif was pinning his arms to the ground.

"What the-"

"NOW, DAVEY!!!" Xoshi yelled.

Then the foul dog saw it. The enormous bird that had zoomed by earlier was flying overhead again. It dropped one more person. It was Davey. His fists were clenched and he had his feet aimed right for the canine's gut.

Belome began squirming and thrashing about with all his might, but Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif kept him pinned down. "NOOO!!" he screamed. "DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO-"

WHAM!! The blow hit. Davey's feet connected with the giant voodoo doll's stomach. They sunk into it as they it were quicksand. The dog could have sworn his lungs had just caved in. Davey leapt off of his gullet and landed on the ground. "Give him some space," the boy ordered. "He's gonna blow!"

Xoshi and the others didn't hesitate for one second to obey. Practically instantaneously, the three of them jumped away from the beast. Once they did that, the unlawful being shakily got up off the ground, clutching at his sides and groaning. "Ugh... You... Why..." Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif watched in disgust as a large bump moved its way up the trembling creature's stomach, up his throat, and into his puffed out cheeks. Belome tried keeping it inside his mouth with his hands, but it was futile. At last, when he couldn't take it anymore, BLLAURRPHH!! He spat out something huge and covered in some kind of sticky green slime. Davey's eyes broadened as he recognized this thing as his friend.

"CHAAAK!!" he yelled as he ran up to his friend. "You're okay!! Oh, thank god!!"

"Th-That... was the worst... thing... that ever... happened to me," Chogun wheezed. "Complete... nightmare..."

"Well, don't worry, Chak," Davey reassured as he pulled out his Time Wand. "I'll see to it that-"

The boy stopped once he saw his friend put up a three-fingered hand. "N... No..." he rasped. Chogun took a few more deep breaths, acting as though he hadn't done so in years. The bug man put his hand down and pulled out his own wand, although he was holding it rather unsteadily. "It's time... to finish this..."

Davey stared at his fellow treasure hunter for one second. Then he nodded. He took a step back, putting some more distance between him and his friend. Once he glanced at Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif, they immediately caught on, nodded, and did the same thing as him. This resulted in a crude ring shape between Belome and Chogun. The trecherous one of the two was struggling pretty hard to breathe himself.

"Heh... And just what do you think you're doing?!" the dog gloated. "Are you... gonna fry me? Grill me? You gonna send me to the moon?!"

Chogun gripped his slimy hand tightly around the metallic body of his wand. "Of course not," he growled. He started feeling a huge amount of sacred energy flowing throughout his body. He squeezed it down his arm and into the wand that his hand was clutching. Its tip began to glow and Chogun's fist began to quake, but not from fatigue this time. Chogun took a deep breath and spun around with the wand pointed at his enemy. "I'M SENDING YOU TO HELL!!!"

Belome's pupils shrank significantly. The tip of Chogun's wand became blindingly bright. What burst forth from it struck the hazardous dog like a train and incinerated every last inch of his body in a way that made the earlier assault from Davey's wand seem like a popgun. Xoshi, Chogun, Davey, White Rose, and Leif watched as a ridiculously huge, fat laser of white light erupted from the Energy Wand, plowed into the beastly dog and whited out everything, save for the shadows behind them. Once Chogun dimmed the spell down and he started panting heavily from having done it, it was revealed that Belome was no longer standing there. However, the sound of rocks falling over the side of the mountain was. Once this was heard by the few remaining Shoguns of the scene, the ones that had been their master's throne but a second ago, their eyes widened and they promptly got back on their feet, ran to where their leader had supposedly fallen, and jumped down it. They were almost like lemmings...

FOUR DOWN  
THREE TO GO

Xoshi, Davey, White Rose, and Leif ran up to Chogun once he put his hands on his knees out of utter tiredness. They tried putting their hands on him, but, the minute they did that, they backed away, being unable to believe what kind of a nasty substance they had just touched. Only Davey dared to do it again. He put his hand on the back of his companion and started talking to him. "Well, Chak," he said, "you did it. You overcame your fear of dogs and you gave that bastard what was coming to him."

"Yeah," Chogun breathed, "I guess I did. But... I'm still a bug..."

_Xoshi..._

The brown Yoshi got the next message from Beel. He cleared his throat to get Chogun and Davey to turn their heads towards him. "Um, if you guys are looking for some way to return yourselves to normal," he said, "you could always just come with us on our journey. You know, it's only been a few days now, and already we've seen some pretty crazy things. From what I can tell, things are only going to start getting even more wild from here on out. Who knows... Maybe we'll stumble upon a cure along the way."

Chogun and Davey's eyes lit up. They jerked their heads towards each other. "Do you thi-"

"-Yes, Chak, yes. In fact, I don't think we could ask for a better opportunity." Davey turned his head towards Xoshi again. "We accept."

Xoshi smiled, White Rose nodded, and Leif tapped the air in front of him with his fist. "Alright then," the brown Yo'ster said. "Shall we be heading back?"

"Sure thing," Davey replied. "Just one second..." The shrunken man placed his mouth between his two hands and made another really strange noise with his lips. Moments after he did so, the Steenix was back in the sky. It flew up to where its five new friends were and began to float its way down. The quintet backed away from it with wind smacking them in their faces as though this were a giant helicopter they had on their hands. Chogun watched this colossal bird and whistled.

"Dave, you got a big one this time!" he praised.

"Ah, it's nothing," the boy said. Once the Steenix settled down, the five people walked up to it with Davey in the lead. He looked into its eyes and started exchanging comments with it in that bird language. Once that was done, the humungous bird lowered its head and Davey walked on top of it like a platform.

"What'd you say?" Leif asked.

"I told him we were grateful and that we couldn't have done it without him. He said he was the one that should be thanking us. Then I asked him to take us back to Silicon. He said he'd gladly do so."

Xoshi, White Rose, and Leif were very approving of this, but Chogun was a little confused. "Silicon?" he asked.

"I'll explain on the way," said his partner. After that, the other four people walked on the Steenix's head, down his neck, and onto his back, just as Davey had. Once all five people started hanging on tight, the giant bird started flapping its wings again. Before long, it was in the sky, soaring its way back to everyone's favorite village. This had been a glorious day for all six of them...

Way down on the ground, however, things proved to not be too glorious for everyone. Being laid down and attended to by a bunch of Shoguns in the middle of the woods next to Belome Rock was Belome himself. He was covered in bruises and burns, and he was looking spitefully up into the sky, although his view of it was slightly obscured by the overhanging leaves. He saw a huge green bird go by and he snorted in resentment. "Okay then," he growled. "If I can't have Belome Rock... then I'll just find some other place to conquer. Just you wait..."

* * *

Memories kept going through Fyooshi's head as the three of him, Yoshi, and Glishy journeyed through the Jade Jungle. He kept thinking about which places were the ones where he was doing certain things on a certain night. He ran from the aliens here, he saw Naji get taken away by them there... Once that thought crossed Fyooshi's mind, it made him a bit sad. It had been a good few days now, and he still had no clues whatsoever on the whereabouts of either of his two friends. Was he ever going to find them? The only answer he got to this was from his own lack of knowledge.

"As you may already know by now, this is the Jade Jungle," Glishy said to his green companion. "When we were being ruled over by Ren, this whole place was off limits. However, even had it not have been off limits, nobody would have entered it. This place tends to be rather dangerous anyway."

Yoshi nodded. It went on like this for a little while as the three of them marched on. Eventually, they found themselves wandering around a rather large opening in the middle of these woods. Fyooshi noticed how the center of this opening had a humungous gash in the middle of it. It was probably a good few yards deep. It seemed only the magenta colored Yoshi could tell the origin of such a thing. It kind of haunted him. However, that was nothing compared to the next discovery he made.

"They say that, around here somewhere, there's a secret entrance the underground civilization of Jla... Fyooshi, what's wrong?"

Fyooshi wasn't walking anymore. He was just standing there, looking around nervously. His gaze was unblinking, his breath was very short, and he was almost trembling. Yoshi and Glishy were very disturbed by the sight. Fyooshi kept jerking his head left and right for reasons that weren't very clear. Fyooshi himself, though, only had a vague idea of what exactly he was doing. If he didn't know any better, he could see bits of green gunk lying around on the ground here and there. Flies kept landing on a few of them and flying away. In one direction, the cowardly Yo'st er could see a rotting shoe. In another, he could see a saddle. In the woods over there...

Fyooshi suddenly ran off, much to the confusion of Yoshi and Glishy. The two Yoshies looked at each other and began to give chase. However, they were only able to cover a few feet. They stopped dead in their tracks once they heard a huge, bloodcurdling scream. It made the two Yoshies feel as though two knives had just been jammed into them. They started running even harder. What they eventually found was not a pretty sight. It was Fyooshi kneeling down on the ground with something green, messy, and covered in flies and dirt in his arms. That thing was none other than Noshi's severed head.

Yoshi and Glishy gasped. Fyooshi just started crying. "No... shi... you... I..." His words were far from audible. They were being drowned out by his chokes and the moisture streaming from his eyes and his nostrils. Finally, he gave up trying to say something, and he just burst into tears.

Yoshi watched this uncomfortably. He didn't know whose head Fyooshi was holding, nor did he really know the language he was speaking in, but he could tell that this was a man lamenting over the death of his friend. Glishy slowly put an arm around the green reptile's shoulders.

"That... was Noshi," he said. "He was a good friend of Fyooshi... He died an unjust death..."

* * *

The aliens had made it to the top of the Ring of Dheos. Up there, they found a huge stone structure. It didn't have any walls, but, judging by the mystical-looking columns that were holding it up, it probably served some religeous purposes. At the end of it that was facing the inside of the ring was a ten foot tall statue of some strange-looking, vampire-like creature. He looked pretty important. At his feet was a basin that was built into the floor. Whatever it was all this was supposed to mean, it went right over the heads of the aliens investigating it.

The others were looking around and observing this and that, but Wart and Katana were just standing near the exit, watching everyone. "It's a temple," the silver alien said as he raised his palm in front of him. "That's it."

Wart nodded. _"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE, THAT'S ENOUGH FOR NOW. LET'S MOVE IT!!_"

The huge frog got a loud "YESSIR" from his subordinates in response. In a moment, the aliens had gotten themselves back together and to continuing the odyssey. As they marched on and began to descend the mountain, Wart thought to himself.

_EACH PLANET HAS ITS SECRETS... AND SECRETS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE KNOWN BY EVERYONE... ESPECIALLY TO INTRUDERS..._

* * *

Fyooshi was sitting sadly on a tree stump somewhere in the woods. He had left Yoshi and Glishy back at where the scene where the burial took place: right next to that of Ramona the Raven. Together, they had managed to gather up what few pieces of Noshi they could find and provide a proper funeral for them. If Glishy was just explaining more and more things about Noshi to the other one, Fyooshi was fine with it. At this moment, all of their thoughts were with Noshi.

Fyooshi thought about all the times they spent together. When the five of them and Naji, Blushi, and Glishy got to ride Dino Splash for the first time. When he and Noshi got into a big argument about who was spreading rumors about who. When Ebony and Ivory came to the island, seeking a place to get some memories from. When the four of them got drunk and hungover only to get scolded by Naji's father the next day for it. When they had to say goodbye to Naji as he set off on Dino Splash to war. When Naji made his triumphant return and how they threw a welcome-back party for him. When Noshi got up and sang a song for him, albeit very poorly.

When Kamek attacked. When Naji's father got killed. When Raphael got taken away. When Ren took over. When the foul Raven made each of them do something humiliating for his amusement. When Naji was forced to kill Blushi right in front of everyone.

Last, but not least, when the three of him, Noshi, and Naji ventured into the woods and had such a hideous encounter with a bunch of space aliens. That was the last time he ever saw the man. Blushi was already gone, and now Fyooshi had to find out about this. He could only hope his friend died the same way Blushi did: in battle. He also hoped that Naji, wherever he was, wasn't going to have to go through the same thing.

When Blushi went, it hurt Naji the most out of all of them. Fyooshi could only imagine what he was going through. Now that Noshi was gone, the magenta Yoshi felt he could finally come to an understanding of that.

The five friends had done a lot of things together. Any happiness, any sadness, any anger that occurred, they all shared it together. They were a team. Unfortunately for Fyooshi and the others, those days were over. His friends seemed to be disappearing one by one, and new responsibilities were starting to weigh him down. Fyooshi was glad he was going to see someone about all this, for he had no clue what to do.

Suddenly, Fyooshi perked his head up. Something in the woods was hopping towards him. Once it was right in front of him, Fyooshi could tell what it was: a white Cheep-Cheep with a beret, a paintbrush, a paint palette, and splotches all over his body. Fyooshi blinked his damp eyes at him.

"Hola, mi amigo!" the fish said. "Pablo Picarpso, at your service. I was just wondering if you'd like to have your skin painted a new color. Perhaps I can be of service?"

Fyooshi just gawked at him. "Ya... You can do that?"

"Si!"

Fyooshi propped his head against one hand in thought. "Hmm..."

Back in front of the two graves, Glishy was continuing to lecture Yoshi on something. "It's a simple method of burying your loved ones, but effective nonetheless. In fact, some say it was the Yoshies that first developed this method..."

Again, Yoshi nodded. Glishy was about to go on with his explanations, but he stopped once he heard something from behind him. He turned around and found that it was a Yoshi of a certain green color that was slightly darker than usual. Glishy got the chills for a second, thinking it was Noshi come back from the dead, but then he saw the feathers on top of this Yo'ster's head as well as the colors of his wrists, and it became a bit more clear to him.

"Fyooshi??" the Yoshi translator asked. "Is that you? What happened?"

"Well," Fyooshi started, "I met this fish who said he could paint my skin a new color."

"Well, he didn't do a good job of it," Glishy remarked. "He didn't get your wrists."

Fyooshi looked at his unpainted wrists. Their magenta color contrasted greatly with the rest of him. They were almost like a pair of wristbands. Fyooshi rubbed one of them sheepishly. "Well," he started, "something suddenly came up, and he couldn't finish. I like it, though..."

"Hmm," Glishy said. "So, uh, why green?"

"I was thinking of Noshi at the time, so..."

Glishy finished it for him. "So now you're the new Noshi?"

Fyooshi scratched the back of his head. "Well... You could say that," he replied, somewhat bashfully. His next answer was more indepth, though. "You see... Noshi was our leader... Well, okay, he wasn't the leader of the whole village, but you know what I mean. Now that he's gone, we've got to preserve his memory. Now that he's gone... I'm the new leader." The once magenta colored Yoshi sighed and held out his hands. "I'm just doing what I gotta do."

Glishy nodded. "You're a good guy, Fyooshi," he said. "You're a little weird... but you're a good guy."

Fyooshi scratched the back of his head again. "Yeah..."

Thus, the three Yoshies continued to bask in the memories their friend had left behind. It would be a while until they decided Noshi was going to find it okay for them to go on with their journey to see Raphael. Wherever the green Yoshi was, they could tell he was hoping for the best for them, a comforting thought to say the least...

Elsewhere in the woods, a certain white fish was being pestered by a purple one. It was a female fish.

"Pablo!! I've been looking all over for you. Have you any idea how worried our little Sashimi and I were about you?! Now I find you painting people's skin?! What is it with you?!"

"Honey, it puts bread on the table! AY!! Not so rough, mi estimada esposa..."

Jade Jungle had become an emotional place for everyone...


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**  
It had taken a while, but Dr. Kamenstein had finally succeeded in getting another one of his journeys out of the way. After flying around in his Sky-Pop for a bit, he was at last able to arrive at his dome, park his flying contraption in its tremendous garage, and head on inside. It was great to be back.

The only thing about this that bothered the Madscikoopa was the thought of having to face his most reliable bird. Things didn't go too well between the two of them last time, but the scientist wasn't looking for a repeat of that; he was looking for Storko.

But where was that bird? Surely at this time of day, he'd be stuffing his face full of pellets if not sitting around somewhere with his beak in a book. However, the lab coat wearing intellectual heard nor felt the sign of food being eaten or pages being turned. This place was dead silent.

"Storko?" the doctor called. He was answered by his own echo. "Storko?" he called again, as he moved his way through the halls. It was beginning to look hopeless.

As he checked each room of his home, he gradually noticed one thing after another. The piggy bank was missing. The paddleball was missing. Even some of the books had gone missing. What struck the man the hardest though was that one of the shelves had a vaguely geometric shape engraved into it that was surrounded by dust. Pictures were next to this spot. They depicted images of the inventor in some of his younger years as well as his two obnoxious parents. The one that was missing was the one of him and the bird.

With a heavy sigh, Dr. Kamenstein turned away from the photos, sauntered up to the couch, slumped down onto it, and buried his face in his hands. He had been attacked by three witches. He had been kicked out of Mario Land. He stole their two children. He returned them. Now he had yelled at the honorable man that was responsible for the feat. Was life like this for everyone? Was he the only one that seemed to be doomed to forever be constantly switching back and forth between having people do horrible things to him and him doing horrible things to people? His head hurt. It felt like it was being soaked in acid and freezing cold water at the same time. He needed to clear it up.

Ding-dong! The doctor could hear he had guests at his door, but he heard no babies screaming. None of this felt right in the least. Regardless, he shoved himself off the couch, walked up to the door, and opened it up.

"May I-" The Madscikoopa shut himself up once he realized who it was: his own two parents.

"Amos! Sonny boy!!" his mother and father said respectively as they suddenly ensnared their beloved son in his arms. Amos hated to admit it, but, even though it was from his annoying parents, this was exactly what he needed. They gently pushed themselves away from their son to get a good look at him.

"It's been a while, eh son?" his father asked. "We just thought we'd stop by and get some catching up done. How does that sound, eh?"

"It... It sounds delightful." Dr. Kamenstein gave a weak smile and stepped aside with an outstretched hand. "Please come in." His parents thanked him and did so. Before sitting down somewhere in the living room, they had to look around.

"Boy, Amos, this place doesn't change, does it?" his father commented.

"You always were a stickler for consistency," his mother added.

Dr. Kamenstein made a short laughing sound and came out of the kitchen with a few cups of coffee in his hands. He distributed them so they each had one and they all started sitting down and chatting amongst themselves. The son of the group got the conversation going. "So, what's new in your lives?" he asked.

"Oh, not much," his mother replied. "Alexis is just as energetic as ever. In fact, he brought us three whole rats the other night. Honestly, I don't know why that cat thinks we need them that badly..."

"He's just being affectionate, dear..."

"I know... Oh, yes! Your father's thinking of writing his will soon. He says he doesn't feel he's long for this world..."

"For christ's sake, woman, _I_ don't think I should be writing my will soon, _you_ do!! You keep telling me how I'm gonna slip on the sidewalk or something one of these days."

Mrs. Kamenstein laughed and mumbled something as she and her husband started making waving movements with their hands at each other. The father just grumbled and continued to drink his coffee. "But what about you, Amos?" the mother asked. "What have you been up to lately? Still working on that Kame Saucer invention of yours?"

Dr. Kamenstein stopped before his lips could reach his coffee again. He started stammering. "Mother, it's been... I haven't even... You might..." He wasn't sure if he should tell her it's been years since he worked on that thing or that it's about time he started. He also wasn't sure if she should know why. After all, word of Storko and the Kamenstein Bros. had not yet reached them, and he kind of intended to keep it that way.

"Yeah, son, how is that thing?" the father chimed in. "I'll bet you've found all kinds of people with it."

"I-It's still in production," the doctor hastily responded. "I still have some bugs to work on and-"

"-Amos, dear, you've been working on that thing for quite a while now," his mother interjected. "I thought you told me that Raven Stone you got would work miracles for you?"

Her son began to nervously tug at the collar of his lab coat. "Er, about that, uh..."

His father could think of something to say faster, though. "Raven Stone??" he blurted. "What the devil is that?!"

The mother stared at her husband. "It's something he found one time when... You never heard this story? I can't believe you..." The couple mumbled a few things to each other. Their son just sat in his seat and watched them while sipping his coffee uneasily. His mother turned to him. "Amos, your father hasn't heard this story. Would you kindly fill him in?"

The father grumbled something else and Dr. Kamenstein stared into his coffee. They had basically asked him to relive one of his less treasured moments: the one where the witches attacked. He wasn't exactly in the mood for unpleasant memories, but he also wasn't exactly in the mood for his current situation. He took his eyes away from his drink, looked at his parents, breathed a sigh, and got on with it. "Well... It all started a while before we went to Mario Land..."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Kamek?" 

Helga, Bowser, Doppel, and their two Koopa Troopas had gathered before the entrance to Monet's Mansion once more. Gorroh was the one in front of them all, talking to Kamek.

"I'm sure of it, sire," the Magikoopa replied. "Unless I do this, I may as well just put the Koopa Klan in even more danger." The blue garbed sorceror pulled out his broomstick. "I should be back in about two days," he added as he stuck the broom between his legs. "Wish me luck." The Magikoopa pushed off the ground and shot into the air. The six people behind him were waving and saying goodbye. The further he got from them, the more he could concentrate on this new goal.

_Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong,_ he thought, _you and I have much to discuss..._

* * *

Dr. Kamenstein got going with the story. He was in a huge underground cave somewhere with his two friends, Prof. E. Gadd and Mad Scienstein. All three of them had their weapons out. Dr. Kamenstein had a bazooka-like device, Prof. E. Gadd had a vacuum-like device, and Mad Scienstein had a bottle of some liquid substance. Floating around in front of them was a group of eight Clusters that had forced them to stand up and fight. It had been quite the rough battle, and the three aspiring scientists were starting to tire of it. They decided it was finally time to put an end to this.

Prof. E. Gadd turned his vacuum on, Dr. Kamenstein aimed his bazooka, and Mad Scienstein readied his potion. When the timing was right, they each pulled the triggers and fired. In the next instant, the three Clusters on the left had been sucked into Gadd's vacuum, the three on the right had become covered in Mad's liquid, and the two in the middle had become stuck together thanks to a huge blob of purple ooze that had been fired from Dr. Kamenstein's cannon. The two of them fell to the ground in a pile of purple gunk, which stuck to the ground and started wobbling back and forth like gelatin as its two prisoners struggled to break free from it. As for Mad Scienstein's three Clusters, the entireties of their pink outer shells had been melted clean off by his acidic juices. Once the whole things had been eaten away, the tiny star-like creatures within them were exposed. The dwarfed trio immediately became aware of the circumstances at hand, turned tail, and fled. This left the three scientists as the only triumphant ones in the room. It left one other as the grateful one.

"Oh, glory in heaven, y'all saved me!!" A mole man ran up to the three-some with a pig in his arms. "Who'd have thought a walk with Flossy would have resulted in such disaster? Oh, you are just the nicest folk! You have my eternal gratitude."

"You're quite welcome, sir," Dr. Kamenstein said.

"Quite welcome indeed," Mad Scienstein added. "By the way, what kind of pig is that?"

"This? It's Jlakan swine. You know, they live for a very long time."

"Fascinating," said Dr. Kamenstein.

After that, the mole thanked his saviors a few more times, wished them luck, bid them farewell, and began to walk out of this section of the cave with his pig on a leash. The three scientists had their backs turned towards him with their fronts turned towards their goal, whatever it was. A few seconds later, they could hear the mole behind them talking faintly.

"Ah! How you ladies doin' on this... AUGH!!!"

They heard a thud and some squealing. Immediately, the three scientists turned around. They saw that the mole had dropped to the ground unconsciously. His pig was running around him in a state of panic. Floating towards the trio was another one on a set of broomsticks. They were all wearing purple robes, pointy hats, and movie star glasses. Their distinguishing feature was that one of them had blonde hair, another had pink hair, and another had brown hair. They didn't look too friendly.

"Four men and a pig, and no Clusters," the one with the brown hair snorted. "They were lying when they said this stuff was hard to get."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Dr. Kamenstein demanded.

"We're Magikoopas," the blonde one said. "We've got a god to revive, but two people are in our way."

"One of them's the guy lying down over there," said the pink one.

"One of them, we need to make a Voodoo doll of," said the brunette.

"We know a certain mansion that can help us out," said the blonde, "as well as a certain rock."

"Well, the rock's right here," spoke the brunette, "but... so are you... and that's a problem."

Dr. Kamenstein looked behind himself. Their goal was still there; a huge rock of some shiny black material sticking out of the ground. The Madscikoopa saw it glimmer once and he faced the witches once more.

"This Raven Stone?" he asked. "But... We found it first."

"It doesn't matter," said the blonde. "We need every last atom of that thing. It's for a reason you wouldn't understand. Obviously, the reason why YOU would need it is stupid."

Mad Scienstein clenched his fists. "Why you... HOW DARE YOU INSULT SCIENCE?!" He tried lunging towards the three sorceresses, but Prof. E. Gadd stopped him just in time by placing his hands on his chest.

"Don't act so rashly, Mad!" E. Gadd said. "We can resolve our differences peacefully..."

"No, we can't!! First off, they're trying to take from us what we worked really hard on to get and what there may be no replica of, and secondly, THEY INSULTED SCIENCE!! We can't let them get away this!!"

"He's got a point there, Elvin," Dr. Kamenstein chided. Calmly, he took out his bazooka. "These witches are just gonna have to... disappear..."

"Damn right," Mad Scienstein agreed as he pulled out one of his potions. Prof. E. Gadd watched uneasily as his two friends prepared for what appeared to be a vicious battle. The three witches were making similar actions. They were each pulling out their wands.

"Ho ho, you boys are actually thinking of fighting back? That's interesting," said the blonde.

"Wonder if they can," quipped the brunette.

E. Gadd became even more uneasy. His two friends and these three witches were glaring at each other very hatefully with their weapons drawn. Unwillingly, the man gulped and pulled out his vacuum cleaner once more. The two trios were ready.

"Well, this should be good," said the blonde.

"HHAAAUUUGGHH!!!" The brunette yelled. She rocketed forward on her broomstick and slammed right into the chest of Dr. Kamenstein. The blow felt extremely heavy for a woman her size. The aspiring scientist found out why once he was flipped onto his back with his head against the wall: she had attacked him with a giant yellow block she had materialized. It was currently lying on top of his chest, slowly crushing his ribcage.

"That oughtta hold you for a while," the witch taunted as Kamenstein grit his teeth.

"AMOS!!" Mad Scienstein yelled. Thinking quickly, he clenched onto his potion even harder and started aiming for the block crushing his friend. ZZAP!! Mad yelped as his hand became scorched. The potion fell from his hand and smashed on the floor, causing its acidic contents to burn a hole into the ground. Mad angrily clutched at his wound and turned around to see who did this. It was the blonde Magikoopa waving to him and sticking her tongue out at him. The scientific man grimaced and pulled out six potions at once.

"Aw, no you don't," came the voice of a certain block-making witch.

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! Mad felt as though someone had just grabbed his fingers and forcefully snapped them open. He screamed, jumped back, and let go of his potions, or rather what used to be his potions. All six of them had transformed into a bunch of Thwimps hopping around on the ground. Mad stared at them for a second in confusion and frustration while massaging his aching fingers. Then he just started pulling out some more of his potions. Little did he know that the brown-haired witch and the blonde-haired witch were floating up from behind him with their wands raised...

E. Gadd couldn't take anymore of this. Both of his friends were in grave danger, and he had to do something about it. He put up the tube of his invention, aimed, and started sucking. Success! He had simultaneously gotten three of the Thwimps stuck on the tip of his weapon's mouth. The little stone trio was squirming to get away from the device, but its wind was too powerful. Elvin smirked at his handiwork and took a good look at the situation before him. Three Thwimps were still hopping around, Mad Scienstein was about to be attacked, and Kamenstein was being crushed. The third scientist did the math in his head, licked his lips, and aimed for the right spot...

ZING! ZING! Hearing two very strange noises from behind him, Mad Scienstein looked over his shoulder. He saw two triangles, two circles, and two squares headed for him. Almost instintively, he hit the dirt. Luckily, the six geometric shapes just barely missed him. ZAP! ZAP! Two more odd noises made him pick his head up. Where two Thwimps had been hopping about earlier were a pile of rubble and a much smaller Thwimp. It confused the scientist greatly and frustrated the two witches. They were starting to get dangerously to their target when Prof. E. Gadd suddenly made his move...

FOOM!! Like a firecracker, the set of Thwimps went soaring into three different directions. KONK! KONK! They had belted the two witches sneaking up on Mad right in the snouts. SMASH!! The third one nailed Dr. Kamenstein's yellow block right in the center of it and made the whole thing crumble to pieces. Amos snapped his head up and inhaled deeply while clutching at his chest. He looked at his friend and savior. "Thank... you..." he rasped.

Elvin smiled. "Anyti-"

BANG!! An explosion of power suddenly erupted right beneath Elvin's feet. The little man went flying and tumbling through the air. Dr. Kamenstein watched in horror and awe at this. He turned to glare at the culprit. This time, it was the pink-haired Magikoopa.

"Did you forget about me?" she taunted.

"Why you..." Dr. Kamenstein aimed his bazooka and fired. The pink Magikoopa swerved out of the way just in time. SPLAT!! A huge, messy blob of purple ooze splattered onto the wall and remained stuck there.

"That was close," the female Magikoopa breathed as she began to change course. "Now on to the prize..."

Amos scowled once he saw what she was doing: going for the Raven Stone. The big, black rock shimmered as the pink Magikoopa flew towards it with her wand out. She was about to start pointing her weapon at the thing when a look of perplexion befell her face. The rock was shaking like an egg that was about to hatch. Then it popped out of the ground and went skidding across the floor. It stopped once it reached a certain man covered in bruises and skid marks. Using the nifty abilities of his vacuum cleaner, E. Gadd was able to suck up that entire chunk of rock right into the canister that was strapped to his back. The Raven Stone had officially become a part of the scientists' possession.

"YOU GIVE THAT BACK!!" the pink-haired Magikoopa shrieked, the tip of her wand starting to glow.

"NOT SO FAST, YOU HAG!!" Mad yelled from across the room. He turned and punted the remaining Thwimp hopping right in front of him. The little stone creature was fired through the air. BAM!! It got the pink-haired one directly in the back of her head. She made a loud grunting sound and was knocked right off her broomstick. She skidded across the ground as her flying device merely fell. Her wand fired a spell all on its own once it, too, clattered to the ground. Its victim was the pair of Clusters that Dr. Kamenstein got earlier. One magical poof later, and the two of them were a pair of trapped cockroaches. The pink-haired Magikoopa wasn't much better off. Once she stopped skidding around, she was unconscious. She had lost the battle, but there were still two more.

"How dare you do that to our sister!!" the other two witches yelled in unison. They started flying towards Mad Scienstein with their wands upraised once more. The long-haired man merely turned around and flung two of his potions right in their faces. KSSHH!! "AAUUGHH!!" Blazingly hot acid was tearing away at their faces. They could no longer concentrate. They dropped their wands, fell off their broomsticks, hit the ground, and started clutching at their faces and groaning. Both Mad Scienstein and E. Gadd smiled at this turn of events.

"Elvin! Hold them!!" E. Gadd caught a glimpse of his friend, Amos, dragging the pink one's unconscious body over. He immediately caught on and deployed his vacuum once more. In an instant, both of the two remaining witches were sticking to the machine's mouth just as the three Thwimps had been.

Dr. Kamenstein placed the pink Magikoopa right in front of his friend and stood back. He aimed his bazooka at her. "All three of these pests are gonna be here a LOOONG time." E. Gadd nodded. "On three now. One..."

"Wait!" said the blonde-haired Magikoopa, still trying to get the acid off her face. "What are you doing? What is this!?"

"Two..."

"LET US GO, DAMN IT!!" fumed the brunette.

"Three!!"

FOOM!! Amos and Elvin fired at the same time. All three of their projectiles collided with the downed pink Magikoopa's body in a big, slimy, purple explosion. The three scientific men surrounded their latest three victims. The three Magikoopas, like the two cockroaches in the corner over there, were encased in a blob of unbreakable purple jelly. The three scientists smiled as the two conscious ones of the three witches tried struggling to get out of the quagmire.

"What... is... this?!" said the blonde.

"Muckun Muck," said the Madscikoopa, "a substance normally used by Muckun Flowers, a powerful breed of Piranha Plants. It's especially effective against witches such as yourselves. Try breaking out of it if you want. Only time will do the trick."

"Time?!" the blonde one spazzed. "What kind of time?!"

"Oh, I don't know," Dr. Kamenstein mused. "Months... Years... Decades..."

The blonde one started making loud sputtering noises. Her sister just yelled, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU WRETCH!!"

"Yeah, yeah," the Madscikoopa mumbled. "Well, we'll be going now. We're taking the Raven Stone with us. See you later."

"Next time, think twice before insulting science," Mad Scienstein spat as he and his two friends began to walk out of the cave in triumph.

"YOU LITTLE BRATS!! GET BACK HERE!!" the brunette yelled as she thrashed beneath the thick substance, inadvertently pummling her two sisters as she did so. "YOU'RE NOT WALKING AWAY FROM US!! GET BACK HERE AND-"

"Ugh..." The pink one woke up. She had some new bruises on her forehead and someone was yelling in her ear. "Wha..." She found she was in an extremely cramped space and there was some transparent purple substance right in front of her. She lifted one hand and poked it. It was smooth and stretchy, but it was incredibly thick. It was almost like gelatin made out of steel. "Huh?"

"BUNCH OF WORTHLESS GOOD-FOR-NOTHING'S!! I'LL KILL YOU AND MURDER YOUR WHOLE-"

"What's going on?" the pink one asked.

"Nothing. We're just doomed, that's all," the blonde grumbled.

"What?!" the pink one blurted.

"I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON YOUR OWN BLOOD!! I HOPE-"

"Ugh," the blonde groaned as she rubbed her head tiredly. "I can tell I'm going to be extremely sick of both of you by the time this is all over..."

Whoever those three witches were, the three scientists had successfully taken care of them. The two trios weren't going to be able to see each other again for a very long time. One of them was walking its way out of the cave victoriously. Through many trials and tribulations, the Raven Stone had finally become theirs. With it, many great things awaited them. Their spirits were high.

"Boy, Amos, the Kame Zooka saves our lives once again," Mad Scienstein commented. "What's next for that thing?"

"Well," Kamenstein said, "I've been thinking lately I could put it into the Sky-Pop somehow..."

Dr. Kamenstein's story came to a close as the three of him and his two friends in his flashback discovered the body of the mole man they met earlier and started helping him up...

* * *

It was another bright, shiny day. Annabyss and friends were walking down the dirt path they had been informed of earlier. Wario and Waluigi were goose-stepping in unison, Cutlass and Annabyss were taking the lead, and Laser Snifit was just walking. Big Guy had Tessa sitting on the back of his neck. He helped her stay on by holding her feet in place with his hands, just as he would with Davey or even Laser Snifit. 

"Beluga," he said to her.

"Cheetah," she said back.

"Dalmation."

"Elephant."

"Flying fish."

"Goose..."

Other than the wind rustling up the leaves of the trees and the birds chirping, there wasn't much else to listen to. Once his two most child-like teammates got to "rhino", Cutlass was suddenly reminded of something. He turned to his female superior and asked her something.

"That reminds me," he said. "What was it you were doing that one time we fought Larva? You were changing shape..."

"I'm a shape shifter," she replied. "It's a very useful ability."

Cutlass shook his head. "That's not what I mean," he elicited. "I mean... how are you able to do it?"

"Manajus."

"Manajus?" Cutlass repeated. The sorceress nodded her head. "What's that?"

"Oh, I know what that is," Big Guy said, suddenly breaking away from his game with Tessa. She didn't seem to mind, though, as she was also interested in this conversation. "My friend, Crystal Guy, was telling me about it once. He said it's this weird form of energy that's always floating around in the air and stuff. He said you can use it if you do certain things. That was how he could shoot crystals out of his eyes."

Annabyss nodded. "Very good, Big Guy. That's exactly it."

The overgrown 8-Bit felt proud of himself. "You know," he added, "he also said something about it having been created by a group of people called the Starls a long time ago."

"Ten-thousand years ago, to be more precise," Annabyss elaborated. "Legend has it, they created it to protect Tronnajus."

"Tronnajus?" Laser Snifit asked.

"It's what some people call this planet..."

Everyone suddenly started staring at Cutlass. He looked around at them as though they were all suddenly dressed in funny outfits for no reason. "What?" he said. "I just know that..."

"It is indeed called Tronnajus," said Annabyss, the only person who didn't start staring at him. "It means 'World of Wonder', although it is far from the only one of its kind here in the Milky Way galaxy. More specifically, there are 24 others just like it... Well, almost..."

All six of her companions had their eyes fixed on her as though that'd help them hear the explanation better. She paid it little mind and went on with it.

"Tronnajus is special in the sense it was the one Manajus originated on. In fact, it was named after it. Similarly, it means 'Energy of Wonder'.

"The Starls, as you said, Big Guy, made it so that this substance could be used by the people of Tronnajus, but only if they did certain things. They are as follows: defeating giant monsters, putting an end to evil men and their heinous operations, recovering from amnesia, awakening from a coma, making a fortune, having children, taking someone's life, making a beautiful work of art, destroying an entire building, inventing something wondrous, starting a war, and solving a mystery."

Each of these tasks made something ring in the heads of each of the woman's teammates, Cutlass especially. He thought for a moment, and Annabyss went on with her explanation.

"That may not sound as though there are very many things one can do in order to induce the powers of Manajus, but, in reality, it's a little more complicated than that. After all, there are various versions of each task. For instance, 'starting a war' can mean 'starting a fight with someone' just as easily as it can mean 'getting two countries to start trying to kill each other'. 'Solving a mystery' can mean 'solving a puzzle' just as easily as it can mean 'discovering why it's 25 planets, and not 24 or 26.' Different versions of these tasks will get you different amounts of Manajus, but no matter how you do them, Manajus you will get. You can also see how this system can be used as easily as it can abused."

This was all found very fascinating by the others, but their questions were many and close together. They didn't hesitate to voice them.

"So, Annie, when I killed that big, ugly guy at the base..."

"We met this guy in a crown once. He was controlling people with plays..."

"Does this mean that once _I_ recover..."

"What about that one green thing you all killed?"

"Yes, yes, you all gained Manajus when you did all those things," was Annabyss's hasty reply.

"But, Annie, how can we tell when we've gotten Manajus?" Tessa asked. "How can we tell how much of it we have left?"

"Whenever you gain Manajus, you will feel a very faint tingling sensation," Annabyss explained. "Exactly where is different for everyone. For some people, it's in their knuckles. For others, it's in their feet. For me, it's in my eyes...

"As for how you can use Manajus, I can't quite explain it, but, in essence, you merely have to concentrate on where you feel that tingling and picture it exploding. The tingling will occur again. Exactly how harshly it will occur depends on how much Manajus you have left. This can be unbearable at times, but, overall, it's merely an obstacle any decent Manajus-user must overcome.

"Once the tingling returns, picture it exploding once more, although, often, it requires a bit more than this, such as certain movements with your hands and feet (it takes some time to get used to). Exactly what happens is different for everyone. Some people are able to temporarily increase their speed and strength while others are able to summon certain creatures."

"Like Larva," Cutlass quipped.

"Exactly. They say it all depends on what kind of soul you possess."

Annabyss's words had reached them. Soon, they were all looking extremely pensive.

"I wonder what kind of ability _I_ have," Big Guy wondered.

"Me, too," Laser Snifit added while scratching his chin.

"The next town is just ahead," Cutlass commented as he gestured to a collection of little houses that the dirt road sloped into. "Maybe we'll be able to find out once we get there."

"That's Il Ville, so it is indeed a possibility," Annabyss responded. "So, everyone, be on guard."

"Right," her comrades all stated. With that, the group of seven continued walking, unaware of what perilous trials they had lying in wait for them...

* * *

"You remember the plan, right?" 

"Right."

"Okay... Let's do this..."

On this day, a good few members of the Death Sickles were gathered. All of them were basking in the faint glow of the sun shining through the building's stained glass window. Most of them were sitting down, but three of them were up there on the altar. Two of them were Alexander and Kitty holding each other's hands. The third one was Minister Zelm. He was standing behind the betrothed couple explaining something to them.

"Here, starting with the groom, I ask you to recite the vows that you two have made for each other. You describe your love for one another, how it shall go undying for generations on end, how you couldn't ever spend eternity with anyone else, and so forth..."

Hyrg, as promised, was one of the people sitting down. Galileo was to his right. The wolf looked significantly less bored than his disciple did. The younger one's mind kept drifting. He kept thinking about all kinds of irrelevent things. He wondered where his family was and what they were doing. He wondered if they were okay or if they were in grave danger. He wondered if he'd ever see them again. Thoughts like these came plentiful to him. However, other such thoughts like how they made stained glass windows and how Minister Zelm managed to get a nose like that weren't uncommon either. At one point, listening to the ongoing explanations of Minister Zelm, the boy gave a groan and asked his teacher another question.

"How long's this gonna last?!" he asked.

"Hyrg, hush. It'll all be over in about 20 minutes, more or less."

"Sheesh," Hyrg complained. "You'd think the strongest Death Sickle around would be a bit more... exciting..."

"Just so you know, being exciting is not a requirement in order to achieve the rank of 'minister'," Galileo stated. "It's not even required in order to be 'sub-minister'."

Hyrg looked at his teacher. "There's a sub-minister?"

"Yes. Her name is Galm. She's Minister Zelm's daughter."

Hyrg's eyes widened out. "He's got a daughter??"

"Oh, it doesn't stop there. His daughter has a son named Zill who's got a wife named Laren."

"Uh..."

"And they've got a daughter named Shleo. She is the cutest little thing."

Hyrg didn't say anything. He just sat there with an extremely bewildered look on his face. His mouth was hanging open and his eyebrows were contorted.

"It seems they all have some of the same talent he does," Galileo added.

Hyrg still didn't say anything. After letting it all sink in, he finally got his mouth moving again. "Wow," he said. "So, uh, Galileo... What exactly DO you need in order to become minister?"

"Well..."

KSH! KSH! KSSH!! Three explosion-shaped holes were made in the stained glass window. Alexander and Kitty's wedding rehearsal had been interrupted by three Centaurs that had leapt into the room, each of them with fur, eyes, and long, wily hair of the same grey. They were all heavily armed. Hyrg was terrified. Everyone started staring at this trio of intruders. One of them grabbed a hold of the minister's face with his brawny hand and he held a knife up to his neck. The other two Centaurs had whipped out some crossbows and started pointing them at everyone in the room.

"Alright, you maggots," one of them said, "if you want this idiotic leader of yours to live, then you'd better start giving in to our demands. Number one, this base is ours now. Number two, 50,000 of your members now belong to us. Number three..."

Hardly anyone seemed to be interested in what this guy had to say. It showed. Hyrg looked around at all the bored faces and became anxious. He started tugging at Galileo's sleeve and hissing in his ear. "What do we do, Galileo?! If these guys kill him-"

"They won't be able to, Hyrg," Galileo retorted. The boy gave him a pleading stare. "Just watch..."

"Number four, we..." The Centaur stopped. He finally noticed how, other than that one young boy over there, there wasn't a single soul in the room that was looking the least bit threatened. The Centaur scowled. "What's wrong with you people?!" he yelled. "Don't you care about your leader?!"

The two Centaurs with the crossbows suddenly started looking very confused. They were hearing some choking noises behind them. They lowered their weapons and slowly turned around. What they saw wasn't pretty. The Centaur that was taking Zelm hostage was starting to whither away. His skin was drying up, cracking all over the place, and falling off like debris.

"If you want anything from us," Zelm said calmly, "you should at least apologize for what you did to our window..."

CLANG. The knife fell to the floor. It still had a hand clutching onto it, but it was no longer attached to a wrist. It, along with the man it once belonged to, was turning into dust. The Centaur gave off a few more hopeless gasps before his dry, flaky eyelids closed and he fell to the floor with a dull THUMP, knocking some clouds of dust off his body as he did so. One of the two remaining Centaurs was speechless. His jaw was hanging open, but the other one merely started scowling some more.

"You wretched..." he growled. He jammed his crossbow right into Zelm's face, but his look of hatred soon turned into one of despair and disgust. His hands became shaky. The crossbow slipped and clattered to the floor. Then the Centaur knelt down, opened his mouth, and began to regurgitate heavily. However, what was pouring out of him and splattering onto the floor was, not his stomach's contents, but his own blood. It was thick and seemingly endless, like a red waterfall. All of the Death Sickles on the premises winced at this a bit, save for the one who caused it, who merely watched it as though it were just a worm frying up in the sun.

The ones who were the most horrified by this were Hyrg and the Centaur who hadn't had anything done to him yet. The one who was heaving out rivers of his own blood was struggling to gasp and say something between rounds. "P... Please... make it... stop..." His skin was growing pale and his body was thinning out. Hyrg placed a hand over his mouth as he watched this man's veins and arteries flatten out. It was as though leeches had been placed all over his form and they were all sucking rapidly. Finally, he hacked up one last blob of red liquid, and he collapsed, his unmoving eyes forever remaining only half-closed.

There was only one more left. Everyone turned to look at him expectantly. The man was shaking all over. He could no longer hold the crossbow steady. He looked around at all the people staring at him. His breaths had become dangerously short. The curse had practically already begun. Once he saw Minister Zelm glaring at him, he let out a short scream. In a panic, he zipped one arm behind, yanked something off, and smashed it onto the ground before him.

FWISSHH! A large, billowing cloud of purple smoke enveloped the room. Everyone started coughing. Once the smoke wisped and faded away, there was no one left in the vicinity other than the Death Sickles and the two Centaurs' dead bodies. One of them was lying in a puddle of its own blood, and the other was nothing more than a pile of dust.

Minister Zelm slowly moved his eyes from left to right. Finally, he just flipped his hands out. The dust scattered as though it had been swept away by a gust of wind. Hyrg expected people to start coughing from it, but it seemed to just vanish into thin air. As for the other Centaur, its body began to break into pieces like a rock becoming rubble, and each piece that broke off turned into a little pink flower petal that blew away and began to float across the room. Once this was finished, not even the blood was still there. For a finishing touch, the minister turned around and waved his hand. The broken pieces of glass floated off the ground and put themselves back into place. Before long, the stained glass window was back to normal. What was done was now undone.

After that, Minister Zelm faced forward again. "Everyone, I apologize for the interruption," he said as he walked back into place. "May I suggest we continue with the rehearsal?"

Alexander and Kitty nodded. They walked forward as the Death Sickles behind them began to quietly chat amongst themselves a bit as a result of the recent occurrence.

"Those guys had it coming..."

"They had no idea what they were getting themselves into..."

"That's our leader!"

Hyrg was greatly surprised. He looked around at all these smug Death Sickles, being unable to believe their reactions. Did they know all along that this was going to happen?

"Well, Hyrg, to put it shortly," Galileo said, breaking Hyrg away from his thoughts, "in order to be minister... you have to be able to do THAT..."

Hyrg stared blankly for a few seconds. All of the patrons quieted down. Minister Zelm was talking again. It was amazing how quickly it had ended as soon as it began. _So THAT'S a minister?_ the boy thought. _To think... If only one person's been able to leave a scar on him... he must have really been something..._

Meanwhile, outside, running through the trees of the Forbidden Forest was the one Centaur who survived this ordeal. He was galloping fast, panting madly, and refusing to blink. _The others were right. Bedrus was right,_ he thought lamentably. _Minister Zelm... He's too much!! We can't afford a slip-up like this again..._

* * *

Clouds of dust were being kicked up everywhere. Everyone in the village watched excitedly as six of its best racers ran tracks around the circular road surrounding it. The race was almost over. The checkered bar was but a few yards away. Two racers were in the lead, one of them being slightly taller and more muscular than the other. Both of them were panting heavily and being drenched in rivers of their own boiling sweat as their legs worked furiously. The sounds of cheering was all around them. They couldn't give up, not for their family or their friends.

The smaller one's speed was starting to lapse. Fatigue weighed him down. The larger racer was soon taking the lead. The other one blinked the sweat out of his eyes and caught sight of this. Anxiety and desperation caught hold of him. Already, he was letting it all go to waste.

Then everything became silent. The sounds of the people cheering and the mad footsteps died down. The smaller racer looked into the crowds. Standing clearly amidst all the blurry faces was a lone woman. The object of his desire. She smiled gently at him and held her folded hands against her chest. A subtle gesture. It was all he needed.

The sounds were coming back. A newfound energy was ebbing throughout this man's body. His legs had become powerful machines. Before anyone knew it, he was breaking records left and right. His weakening dash had turned into an unstoppable stampede, one that a certain other racer had no prayer against.

The village was in shock and admiration. The smaller racer left a bewildered opponent of his in the dust. In the next instant, it was all over. One man had flown across the finish line and ended it. Patrons galore flocked him and cheered nonstop. An elderly man patted him on the back. A ways behind him, his defeated opponent was yelling and shaking his fist. Six of his equally fit friends were holding him back. In spite of this, everyone was still ecstatic. To top it all off, the woman from before approached the winner of this race, embraced him, and kissed him on the lips. The villagers saw this and cheered even harder. Then they began to move back into the town for further festivities. It was a mirthful, lively place. Annabyss and co. had entered Il Ville.

"Annie?" Tessa asked. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," the woman replied. "Perhaps we should find out... But we must be careful..."

Their next move was to walk across the dirt path that served as a racetrack earlier, and to wander into this strange new town. The houses were chiefly made of planks of wood painted white, thus noticeably giving the place a more modern feel than Steen Stream did. The big similarity between the two towns, however, lied in the fact that both of their inhabitants were rather small. The Ils, though, had dark skin instead of peachy skin, and their hair was black instead of green.

On this day, their town was loaded with stands aplenty. People were getting snacks and drinks of all kinds from them. One of them caught Tessa's eye. The girl immediately grabbed Annabyss's hand and pointed. "Annie! Can we get some cotton candy? Please?"

"Yeah!! Cotton candy!!" Big Guy crowed. Cutlass gently covered half of his face with one of his hands and Laser Snifit shook his head.

Annabyss laughed. "Yes, of course," she said.

"I guess I could go for something," Laser Snifit added.

"Something alcoholic would be nice," Cutlass added. In a moment's time, everyone had gotten what they wanted. Soon afterwards, they were back amongst the crowds. They all seemed to be headed in one direction.

"My cotton candy could kick your caramel apple's butt, Snifit," Big Guy stated.

"Big Guy, shut up."

Tessa was the next to speak. "I don't get it, Annie," she said. "Is this place really as dangerous as they say it is?"

"Well," Annabyss stated, "it could be, and it couldn't..."

A few seconds later, the gathering was complete. The Ils had stopped walking and started standing around in front of the platform in the center of town. On top of it was a microphone and, of all things, a giant treasure chest. In the middle of all this, Annabyss and the others were but more faces in the crowd; faces that didn't know anything. To remedy this, Big Guy leaned over to the man to his right. He was the same elderly man who was there for the winner of the race.

"Hey, uh, what's going on? What's this all about?" he asked.

"Newcomers, eh? Of course you wouldn't know anything about this," the old man commented. "We do this every year," he explained. "We get six of our best guys together and we let them race. The winner gets to pull the lever."

"The lever?"

The aged man pointed to the left side of the humungous treasure chest. A lever was sticking out of it. "Whoever pulls that thing activates the Sacred Treasure Chest. This year, the man who's gonna pull it is none other than my son, Jack. Damn, I'm proud of him." This elderly man was baring a dreamy smile, but Big Guy was just confused. Then the old man sighed resentfully. "Not like my other son... Jax... He left two years ago to join some cult called the Mushroom League, or something. He said the world needed cleansing and he was just the man to do it. I haven't seen him since. The big idiot..." The man suddenly started smiling once more. "Not like my other son, Jack, though. Now THAT'S a real man! The one who's going to pull the lever, yes sir! Not like my other son..."

"So, uh, what exactly happens when you pull the lever?" Big Guy inquired, interrupting the man's reminiscing.

"What happens? People die."

Annabyss and her other five teammates suddenly turned their heads towards the man Big Guy was talking to. "Wh... What?!" the huge Shy Guy blurted.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you about that. Before we get the race going, we capture ten people and we throw'em into the Sacred Treasure Chest. Once the lever is pulled, spikes from inside the chest fly out and squash all the poor saps inside of it. We do it in the name of Veyran."

"Sacrifices," Annabyss whispered.

"Yup. Sacrifices. You gotta love'em!"

"This is horrendous," Annabyss seethed. "Ten innocent people are going to die for that foul witch! This ceremony must be stopped..."

The old man turned and looked at her. "You have something against this ceremony?"

"It's an abomination! Innocent people must not-"

BAM!! Annabyss and the other six had suddenly received some heavy blows to the head. In the next second, they had all slumped down onto the ground, unconsciously. Behind them were the runner-up of the race and his sextet of equally muscular companions, each of them with their fists up.

"Change of heart, Jabb?" Jack's father asked.

"Don't get me wrong," the runner-up said. "I'm gonna get Jack for this... But nobody... NOBODY messes with Veyran!!"

The old man turned away from Jabb and smiled. He continued to wait for the main event as the rest of the Ils did. It was mere seconds away. Once those two people over there walked onto the stage, it could get started. As they approached the stairs to this platform, the one in the lead was smiling and thinking to himself.

_Racing,_ he thought. _For so long it's been such a favorite pastime of the Ils. In fact, one time, me and my brother found a very strange object in the woods. In order to determine who was to keep it, we challenged each other to a race. Well, lucky him, he won. The treasure was his and he used it to get a nice place of his own somewhere. It's just as well; he was the best in the village. And now... a new champion has arisen..._

The Ils in the crowd cheered as a man in a business suit walked onto the stage and up to the platform with Jack in tow. The two of them waved to the audience as they took their places (Jack waving to his father and the woman of his life in particular). Jack stood beside the lever of the Sacred Treasure Chest and the other man stood behind the microphone. Everyone quieted down as he began his speech.

"Citizens of Il Ville," he announced, "I, Mayor Jad, am pleased to announce that Jack Illiyard is the winner of this year's race. Let's all give him a big hand!" The mayor started clapping and all the other Ils immediately joined in, complementing it with a few whistles and cheers. Jack smiled and waved to all of his admirers in return. Once the crowd became silent again, the mayor went on with his speech. "Anyway, we have in the Sacred Treasure Chest ten people who-"

"-Seventeen!"

The mayor stopped and looked around. The audience was looking equally confused. "Uh... Excuse me?" he asked, still not really knowing to whom he was speaking.

"Seventeen!!" Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the right side of the stage. Walking up its steps were Jabb and his friends. Each of them were dragging the unconscious bodies of Annabyss and co.. "Heathens," Jabb said as he dragged Annabyss's body up to the mayor. "They said they wanted to stop the ceremony."

The leader of the town stared at this man and his friends for a second. Then he shrugged his shoulders. He turned back towards the microphone with his hands spread out and a smile on his face. "Seventeen people," he said. "What's seven more this year, eh?" The crowd cheered. Jabb and his friends had taken a ladder to the Sacred Treasure Chest. They popped it open and took turns heaving the newly acquired sacrifices into it. They closed it, waved to all the people, walked off the stage, and let the ceremony continue.

"Seventeen people, everyone," the mayor stated. "All of them opposed to the resurrection of Veyran. She'll be glad once their blood has been spilt in her name." The mayor spread his arms once more and then brought his hands together. The Ils in the crowd all followed his example. "Let us now bow our heads in prayer..."

Meanwhile, inside the giant treasure chest, as the mayor prayed, seventeen people were dwelling, all of them unconscious. The only one who still had some life in him was the one with strong arms, a yellow cap, and the faintest glimmer of a rainbow light shimmering between his eyelids. "Tu... Kear... Lyss..."

* * *

Out on the sea, a ship was sailing along the salty breeze of the ocean air. The ship's deck was overflowing with all kinds of strange creatures running back and forth, doing everything they could to keep their vessel afloat. The head-honcho of them all was the one behind the steering wheel, the dread Capt. Sugar. Not too far away from her was the spoiled Syrup. 

"Sugar, how long 'til we get there?" she asked.

The leader of the White Sugar Pirates squinted her eyes. In the distance, she could make out their much-awaited destination, a little town near the coast. The treacherous woman cracked a mischievous grin. "Not long..."

* * *

"And in your name, we pray... Amen..." 

The ritual was over. Everyone in the crowd opened their eyes and lifted their heads back up. Once again, the mayor was the center of attention. "Now," he said, "let the show begin!! Jack, if you will..."

Jack nodded. He walked closer to the lever sticking out of the side of the revered Sacred Treasure Chest. He put his hand on it and time seemed to stand still. Everyone in Il Ville was excited beyond redemption. They all watched and waited, all of them standing on the tips of their toes.

_Seventeen sacrifices,_ the mayor thought. _It should be good this year. Jadz doesn't know what he's missing..._

_Come on, son,_ thought the father of the winner. _Make us proud..._

_Yeah, make us proud,_ thought the bitter Jabb with his arms folded. _You lucky bastard..._

Jack tightened his grip around the lever. He was sweating. He had never been more nervous in his life. All of these people staring at him as he was about to perform the most sacred of rituals. Did he have the guts to do it? Was he going to screw up? Was he going to be scorned for life?

Suddenly, all of his doubts vanished. He saw HER in the crowd, smiling at him. The mere sight of such an uplifting look from his significant other cleansed him. He felt reborn. He felt as though pounds had been lifted from his body. There was NOTHING he couldn't do.

Jack gladly returned the smile. The time had come. The winner put his attention back on the lever and began to push...

BOOOMM!!! Jack jumped back and fell down. The stage had been destroyed! He, the mayor, and the podium fell to the ground along with the broken pieces of wood. Everyone leapt back and screamed. What could have caused this? Suddenly, it happened again. BOOOMM!! A nearby house had been demolished. Once they looked in the distance and saw what the cause of this was, pandemonium ensued; a pirate ship was sailing towards them...

Il Ville was terrified. All of its citizens were running frantically, trying their best to defend what mattered most to them. They gathered up their things, tore down their stands and merchandise, and got their children indoors, all for the sake of protecting them from these pirates. Their attackers found it all rather amusing...

"Stupid Ils," Capt. Sugar smirked. "You're just making it more fun..." The ship stopped at the shore's edge, dropped the anchor, and took the raid to the next level. The captain raised her sword and swung it in the direction of the town. "CHAAAARRGE!!"

The pirates yelled and hooted excitedly. They withdrew their weapons, jumped off the ship, got back on land, and began to stampede towards the village. The last Ils to get to safe places were the first to go. Pirate Gooms were tackling them, holding spears to their throats, and forcing them to empty out their pockets. Wanderin' Gooms were raiding buildings, running out of them with stolen valuebles, and lighting the architectures on fire. Dangerous Ducks were submissing people and beating them senseless just for the fun of it. Once Jad and Jack pulled themselves out of the wreckage of the stage and saw all this, immediately, it dawned on them that despair had consumed Il Ville. There were too many of these pirates, and there was nothing they could pray for to change that.

Then it hit Jack. His eyes snapped wide open and he began to look around desperately. Where had she gone? Where was the woman that made his life worth living? Where was everything he had ever fought for? He had to find her. Nothing else mattered. He decided they'd be together even in this torrent of chaos, regardless of how many bones he'd have to break in order to pull it off...

He took a huge step forward. That was it. He felt a delicate hand clasp onto his forehead and a blazing river flash onto his neck. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, suffering from a wound that would never heal, yet it was one that wouldn't allow him to ever suffer again. In his place stood a woman in green, a sword covered in blood being held in her left hand. The mayor saw what Jack was about to do and what this woman had done to him. The winner of a very cherished tradition was gone, as was a young girl's love. All this, and the village they adored was being destroyed. The pride and glory of Il Ville was slipping away like sand in an hourglass.

"What do you want?!" Jad cried. "Why are you doing this?!"

"The Kreer Sphere," Capt. Sugar said. "Tell me where it is."

The mayor scowled at the atrocious woman. "Why should I?" he snarled. "Why should I do anything for anyone who took everything away from me and the ones I love?"

WHAP. Sugar caught Jad by his left arm. She grinned malevolently as she looked directly into his eyes. "Why not?" She violently threw him out of her grasp. The harsh maneuver spun him all the way around so he could see what was going on.

Half of the village's buildings had already been burned to ashes. In the distance, a Wanderin' Goom was hurling another torch into another. It, too, caught fire. Closer by, a few Dangerous Ducks were walking away from a family huddled together. The ducks were laughing in their faces and walking away from them with loaded sacks slung over their shadows. A few yards from there, one of the female Ils was lying on the ground. A Dangerous Duck was reproaching her, holding a pearl necklace in his hand. The woman tried crawling towards him and reaching out to him with one outstretched arm, but the duck just turned around and kicked her in the face. The woman fell to the ground, defeated. The Dangerous Duck laughed and walked on.

Jad didn't want to see any of this anymore. Tears welled up in his eyes. He turned towards Capt. Sugar and let it spill.

"Ganchan Canyon," he choked. "My brother, Jadz, lives there. I gave it to him after losing in a race to him once. Take it, if you want, but please... leave our village alone..."

Capt. Sugar smirked. "Wise choice," she chided. "That's all I needed to know..." The woman lifted up a foot and slammed it into the mayor's face. He went sprawling backwards and rolling down the pile of wood. She watched him lay on the ground, wincing in pain. She smiled once more. Then she swung her blood-stained sword up into the air. "ALRIGHT, YOU WORTHLESS DOGS, FALL BACK!! BACK TO THE SHIP!!" she yelled.

A loud cheer from her vicious minions shot up in response. Soon, Pirate Gooms, Wanderin' Gooms, and Dangerous Ducks were running away from Il Ville along with its burning buildings and suffering people. All of them were heading back towards the S. S. Teacup. Only ten Dangerous Ducks remained.

"Say, uh, captain, what should we do with this big treasure chest here?" one of them said, pointing to the tremendous thing turned on its side.

Sugar looked at it and instantly switched moods completely, like a light turning on. She clicked her heels together, clasped her hands together, and gazed upon it with shimmering eyes. "That?" she said. Then she relaxed her shoulders and sported a devilish grin once more. "Haul it back. It's gotta be LOADED with goodies..."

The Dangerous Ducks saluted her. They immediately got to work on picking it up from different sides and carrying it over to the ship. Sugar watched this in devious satisfaction. She turned around and started to walk off this huge mound of broken wood. At the bottom of it, she came across her little sister. She was holding a rather large bundle of jewelry in her miniscule arms.

"Sugar?" she asked. "You think mom would be proud of us?"

"I don't think it, Syrup," Sugar replied. "I know it..."

As the two demonic siblings walked away from the wreckage that they had reduced Il Ville to, Jad lay on the ground, gazing dazedly into the sky. A tint of grey had darkened it due to the smoke rising from the ruins. He felt as if the day had instantly turned to twilight just because of this one dire event. However, at least it wasn't night.

_Monsters,_ he thought. _Go to Ganchan Canyon if you want, but you won't find the Kreer Sphere there... Only death..._

The disheartened mayor pried himself off the ground so he was sitting upright. Once he did so, he could see that, on top of this hill of destruction was a young woman holding a dead man in her arms. Back and forth, she looked at his closed eyes, his expressionless face, and the gash on his neck. Finally, she just exploded in tears and buried her face into her former-love's chest. Mayor Jad watched this and sunk his face into his hands.

_Heaven help us..._ Night consumed Il Ville and a ship sailed away...

* * *

Above the waters bordering the Clattagin Woods, Kamek was flying around on his broomstick. He had already covered a good amount of distance. _Let's see,_ he thought, _I should be able to arrive there within the next 24 hours..._

As he was flying, something suddenly caught his attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he could swear he had just seen something strange sticking out of the water below him. It looked like a flower with white petals... but why would a flower be growing out of the middle of the ocean? He looked downward to make sure.

Nothing was there. Kamek stared at where he was certain he saw it. A few seconds later, he shrugged it off. _This isn't the time to be distracted by such trivial things,_ he thought. _There's something important I must do. The fate of the Koopas depends on it..._

* * *

The White Sugar Pirates were in high spirits. On the deck of their ship, they were all dancing and sprinkling themselves in the rain of money and treasure they were able to pillage from Il Ville. It exceeded their expectations by far.

"Captain, look at all this stuff!!"

"Who'd've thought those stupid little Ils would have had so much of it?!"

"We're rich! RICH!!"

Capt. Sugar smiled. "I know," she said as she watched a select few of her minions try their hand at tipping their newfound giant treasure chest open. "Now we're going to see just how rich we really are..."

WHAM!! It was knocked over now. Once that happened, the Dangerous Ducks stepped away from the chest. Then a bunch of Pirate Gooms leapt on top of it and jammed their spears into the thing's hinges. SHING!! The top part was hacked off. The chest was open now and it was time for the ducks to venture inside. Capt. Sugar and the others were excited. However, once they came out dragging a bunch of people with them, everyone was confused.

"Oi, captain, there's just some weird people here," said the one holding an unconscious Wario by the shoulders. "What do we do with them?"

The captain didn't respond at first. She frowned for a bit in disappointment that no treasure had been found inside this chest. Then a smirk came upon her face. "Throw them in the brig with the other four," she ordered. "It's about time we let the games begin..."

That was all the White Sugar Pirates needed to hear. They, too, had been let down by the outcome of this, and now they were eager again. The enthused pirates saluted their captain once more and commenced dragging these unconscious people to their destination...

* * *

"...And so, after having searched for it for so long, I was finally able to find it... The Kreer Sphere!" 

"Mm-hm."

Foreman Spike, Guido, Oglian, and Swoompster were still rotting away in the brig of the S. S. Teacup. Between the four, Swoompster was the one telling the story, Foreman Spike was listening, and the other two were just sitting around. In this dank, smelly place, only the Swoompire's rambling kept the scene alive.

"But it was in the hands of that greedbag, Mac Rozone! I tried getting it away from him, but all I got was a lock of his hair..."

CHING! The door opened, but only for one brief shining moment. In one humungous blur of orange, grey, yellow, and other such colors, 17 new cellmates had been added to the S. S. Teacup's brig. Each of their motionless bodies had been unceremoniously thrown onto the floor, getting a yelp from the surprised Guido and Oglian. CHING! The door closed again. The sound of hands wiping dust off themselves and footsteps walking away filled the air.

"Get along, now! But I wouldn't get TOO attached to each other, if I were you. Heh heh heh..."

The guards' taunts faded away. They were alone again. Foreman Spike scoffed. "How many people are they gonna cram in here? Sheesh..."

"Ugh..." Big Guy pulled himself off the ground, clutching at his head. "What happened? Where are we?" Others began to wake up as well while the titanic Shy Guy was busy looking around at their new surroundings. "What is this? Did those stupid Ils throw us in here?"

"On the contrary..." The few people in the room that had resumed consciousness at this point turned towards the source of this new voice. It was harsh, misty, and deep-pitched. It almost sounded like it was echoing. "The Ils threw us in a treasure chest. This is a ship. Something must have happened while we were out..."

"You can tell that?" Big Guy inquired. He stared at the mysterious man. "Just who are you, anyway?"

The man stared back. Like Big Guy, he was a muscular brute over eight feet tall and he wore a white mask. Unlike the 8-Bit's mask, though, it consisted exclusively of two eyeholes and no mouth. Peering through those holes were a pair of deep-set, unforgiving eyes. They seemed to have a reddish glow to them.

Like a diver, the skintight thing he was wearing was in one piece, and it covered everything including his hands and his feet. It was red and it encased his hands in mitten-like formations. Around his right wrist was a strange thick, white, coiling bracelet with what looked like the head of a spear. Around his neck was a huge, billowing, dark red cape. He looked extremely intimidating.

"I am Marlukin," the giant responded, "a servant of the goddess, Golden Diva..."

The still groggy Tessa scratched her head. _Servant of..._ she thought. _Wouldn't that make the Ils... capturing their own kind?_

"And these..." Marlukin went on. He gestured towards seven smaller people, all of them baring striking resemblances to him, but mostly in outfit. Only three of them had already woken up. "...Are my subordinates..." The three that were awake were yellow, blue, and red. The yellow one wore a dark yellow jacket, the blue one, a dark blue poncho, and the red one, a dark red scarf. Marlukin pointed to each of them and named them respectively, who all nodded and waved. "Milgurin... Masle... Melcro..." The other four were evidently taller and more gangly than the previous three. There were two red ones, one yellow one, and one blue one. Marlukin named them as well. "Metch... Meech... Milsh... and Milt..." None of them moved. "We're the Spear-Masks," Marlukin elaborated, "and we will stop at nothing until our goddess is revived..."

Big Guy nodded, but Tessa was slightly confused. Eight of these new people were cleared up, but that didn't explain the two in the corner. One of them was a young woman and the other one was a little girl not much older than her own brother. The little one was leaning against the other with a frightened look on her face. The older woman held her and stroked her gently.

What Tessa noticed about them was that they both had long, wavy brown hair and four whisker-like marks on their cheeks. They also had, strangely enough, four plumy white wings growing out of their backs. Between the two, though, the younger one was the one with a fancy-looking red robe and the older one was the one clad in some rather exotic boots, as well as some gloves, a leotard, and a tiara. Tessa found them interesting.

"What about them?" she asked Marlukin. The gigantic Spear-Mask slowly turned his head towards them. The elder woman of the two merely glanced at him once this happened. Marlukin scoffed and turned away.

"Halimus and Hessen," said the tremendous man. "Honorary Spear-Masks."

"Honorary Spear-Masks?" Tessa repeated.

"Long story..."

At this point, Swoompster was confused to death. He tried listening to all these people and keeping up with them, but it just couldn't be done. His brow furled and he let his voice be heard. "Now, just a darn minute!!" he yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. "I was just telling Foreman Spike, here, all about the time I tried getting the Kreer Sphere, and then you people show up and take the spotlight away from me!!"

"Egotist," Foreman Spike muttered.

"And YOU!!" The little Swoompire pointed at the seismic Spear-Mask. "You people! Trying to bring her back, huh?! Well, just so you know, I've got my eye on you, so watch it, servants of Golden Diva!!"

"Is there a problem," Marlukin growled, "servant of Count Dheos?"

Suddenly greatly frightened, Swoompster jumped back. "Well, actually, I, uh, I just..."

CHING! Everyone turned around. The feature ghost of the White Sugar Pirates had floated into the cell. A small troupe of Ghost Gooms were right behind him. He looked around at the prisoners and started pointing. "You, you, you, and you," he said. "You're comin' with me."

Big Guy stood up with his fists clenched. "Hey!!" he yelled. "What right have you to start ordering us around?!"

The ghost looked directly into the overgrown 8-Bit's eyes and smiled. "What right DON'T I have?"

Big Guy suddenly felt a strange vibration shake his body. It was as though the distance between him and this ghost was expanding, as though the room itself was stretching. It seemed everyone in it was inside the belly of some tremendous creature. Big Guy felt this, gulped, and stepped back.

Obediantly, Milgurin, Swoompster, Laser Snifit, and Waluigi got up and started filing out the door. Foreman Spike, Guido, Oglian, Cutlass, Halimus, and the Spear-Masks were cautious of this and Hessen was her usual worried self, but Tessa appeared to be genuinely concerned. "What?!" she said. "So... Just like that, you're all going to..."

"Tessa, you were always a worrier..."

The girl's ears lit up. She recognized that nasal-sounding, raspy voice, but there was something different about it this time. The next one she heard was a similar, but deeper one. It, too, was familiar, but strange.

"He's right, you know. Have you ever seen us NOT able to do something?!"

Tessa looked back and forth. Two of her companions were both smiling at her. One of them was standing in front of the exit to this cell, having yet to leave it as the others did. The other one was still there and with his arms folded. It was the Kamenstein Bros., cocky as ever, but Tessa could no longer see those Annabyss-like rainbows in their eyes. They were... normal...

"Well whatever," Waluigi said. "But, I'm tellin' ya, you're only wasting your time by worrying about us."

"Listen good, woman. This is good stuff," Wario added. Then he yelled out to his brother. "Just don't screw up or anything, alright, you idiot?!"

"I know, moron!! Just leave it to me!!" With that out of the way, the younger Kamenstein Brother began to goose-step out the door. Finally, the pirate ghost floated as well, closing the portal behind him and locking it tight. Seconds later, all of them were gone. Things were getting stranger...

Tessa was anxious. In a panic, she looked down, noticed Annabyss's unconcsious body, and began shaking it. "Annie, Annie!! Wake up! We need you!!"

"Don't bother, Tessa," Cutlass advised. "She's out cold." The girl looked at the man pleadingly. Cutlass looked back and sighed. "Look," he said, "I don't quite get what's going on myself, but I doubt it's anything to lose your head over. Think about it..." The silver alien held his hands out. "Are any of us worth underestimating?"

Tessa stared at him for a while. Then she looked away, a pensive air about her. "I... I guess you're right..."

_I never really thought about it,_ the girl speculated. _All of us... We're pretty strong..._ The young female lifted up her gloved hands and started to look at them. _Does that... include me?..._

Meanwhile, in the corner, Hessen was still frightened. She glanced upward at the elder woman. "Halimus," she said, "when's it going to be over?"

"Soon, Hessen," the woman responded. "Just wait, it won't take long..."

"No," Hessen elicited. She glanced at the Spear-Masks beside them, Marlukin in particular. "I mean... When's IT going to be over?"

Halimus looked at the group of Spear-Masks as well. They paid them no heed. The woman sighed and continued stroking the younger girl. "I don't know, Hessen," she said. "Maybe... It'll never end..."

* * *

After being led and even poked at with their spears, Laser Snifit and the other three had finally made it onto the deck by the ghost and his subordinates. A rather vast opening had been made for the lot of them. It was surrounded by all of the other pirates, each of them looking quite eager. The ghost put the four prisoners in their places, and he floated off to join the crowd. Behind them all, the two pirate sisters were beaming maliciously, anxious for what was to come. Beneath them was the group's feature spiky Koopa Troopa. Once the timing was right, he stepped forward with his arms spread out. 

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" he called out. "Our elite fighter, Cave Master, will now explain the rules of the Death Matches!!"

The four prisoners were shocked by this. The sound of all of these bloodthirsty pirates suddenly cheering for it didn't help any. After that, the minotaur-like creature that was behind the Koopa Troopa stepped forward and began to explain it.

"The matches will be between four people, two people per team. The object is to keep fighting until both of your opponents are dead, if not thrown off the ship. Any means to do this are allowed..."

"Death Matches?!" Laser Snifit blurted. "These people really are barbarians!!"

"Yeah, well," Waluigi muttered, twitching his fingers.

"Heh, this is starting to get interesting," Swoompster commented. Milgurin just folded his arms and scoffed. Cave Master continued with the explanation.

"On one side, we will have the grey guy and the blue guy," he stated. "On the other, we'll have the Spear-Mask and the little Swoompire. All of you, do your best."

"Just like that, huh?" Laser Snifit mumbled.

"Heh. No problems there," Swoompster quipped as he began to do some stretches.

Cave Master raised his hand up into the air, making it look like he was about to do a karate chop. "On my mark, now..." Reluctantly, Laser Snifit and Waluigi took their places. Their opponents didn't take long to assume theirs from across them. They all waited for the signal. "Ready..."

"Just so you know," Swoompster said to his two opponents, "I have nothing to do with Count Dheos. He and I are through! The only person I work for is me, myself, and I."

"Set..."

Swoompster bared his fangs and grinned. "After all, they do call me the Swoompire of Greed..."

Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Whatever, weirdo..."

Cave Master finally chopped the air before him, and it was on. The crowd cheered. "FIGHT!!"

Milgurin whipped out a white spear, Laser Snifit fired a laser hoop, and Waluigi shot a kick out at his opponent. While Milgurin dodged the laser, Waluigi's foot slammed into something as hard as steel. It made his foot ache. He glared at Swoompster for a second, wondering what could have caused this. The miniscule Swoompire just grinned at him. While Laser Snifit was busy with the Spear-Mask, Waluigi was ready to give it his all against this bat-like man...

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!! Three kicks later, and the result was the same. It was getting on the blue man's nerves. He stopped for a second to look his enemy over in order to find out if there was really anything that special to him. He regretted it. BANG!! Waluigi went flying backwards. He skidded across the deck of the ship, feeling an intense agony in his chin. He stopped himself and started rubbing the sore area. He looked up and finally saw what the deal with this man was. Swoompster had a golden ball floating above the back of his hand. It was glowing rhythmically. The Swoompire chuckled.

"Balls, spheres, globes..." The creepy-looking dwarf snickered and moved his hand around. Surprisingly, the ball just spun around it in midair as though it was hanging on by an invisible chain. "Call them what you will..." The Swoompire grabbed the ball with his other hand and put it behind his back. His hand returned with a silver ball with no glow to it, but rather a line going around it. The midget reared it back, getting ready to fire. "I want them all!!!"

WHOOSH! The ball went flying. Waluigi watched it in an almost bored manner. He could just kick it away. He swung his leg upward and BANG!! It hurt severely. The Kamenstein Brother started hopping on one foot, clutching at the injured one. It was bleeding. The silver ball returned to the hand of the Swoompire like a boomerang. Waluigi noticed how it had sprouted three curved and jagged blades out of its line. The gangly man scowled at this.

"All of them," said the Swoompire, "they're my treasures!!..."

Laser Snifit turned around and saw the predicament that Waluigi was in. A tall guy like him was trying his best to land even a single hit on this tiny nuisance, but, thanks to all of those strange orbs, such a thing wasn't looking to be possible anytime soon. "Geez," the 8-Bit said quietly, "I'm glad I'M not the one fighting him..."

SHING! "Yowch!!" The grey Snifit felt something tear a bloody gash out of his shoulder. Swiftly, he turned around and fired another laser. The Spear-Mask just jumped out of its way again. Laser Snifit growled. "I got problems of my own, I guess..."

Waluigi was panting. He stood firmly with his fists by his sides, trying his best to ignore the pain in his left foot. He stared down his cocky opponent who had put away a red ball only to pull out a clear green one. He held it out in front of him and squeezed it like the spherical mass of gelatin it was. Waluigi didn't care what this one was going to do; he wasn't going to let it win this time.

The ball exploded into several smaller green ones. They all shot forward like bullets from a machine gun. The damage was critical, but it wasn't to the man in blue; it was to the Pirate Gooms behind him, all of them screaming. One of them had lost an eye, one of them had been nailed in the gut, and one of them was clutching at his throat. Swoompster was confused. Where had Waluigi gone? This, he found out the hard way.

WHAM!! The small Swoompster felt two huge clubs smash their ways into his face. He yelled and reared back in pain. Waluigi jumped off of his face and readied another assault. Swoompster had just gotten his eyes open again when his enemy was suddenly right in front of him. His eyes bugged out. In the next instant, multiple gunshots were being kicked into his stomach. To top it all off, Waluigi got back on the ground and whipped one leg around. BAM!! It slammed right into the left side of the dwarf's head. He was sent sprawling.

The little man was lying facedown on the deck when Waluigi was suddenly found standing before him. "Jumping and kicking," he said. "Just two of the things the human legs are good for. Keep that in mind."

Swoompster laughed, though it sounded more like coughing. "That so?" he said as he reached underneath his cape. "Well... I can tell now that you're not one of the weaker ones..." He pulled out another silver ball, but this one had no line on it. Waluigi cocked an eyebrow at it. Swoompster got off the ground and held this new orb with both hands. "The Tran Sphere," he said, "the sphere that can turn even a simple lock of hair into power. Behold!!"

The Swoompire raised the ball into the air and smashed it on the ground. Like a smokebomb, it exploded and enveloped the dwarfish man in a small accumulation of silver clouds. Waluigi stared at this in shock and confusion. The pirates of the S. S. Teacup and even the other two fighters in all this did the same thing. The next thing they heard was a different voice emanating from this smoke.

"Part Mario, part Crook," the voice said, "the guardian of Thornton, the one, the only..." The smoke cleared away. Standing there in a dramatic pose and with a bulging sack over his shoulder was, not Swoompster, but a taller man in green. He possessed the same bulbous nose and curly mustache as any other male Mario did, but, from the nose up, it was completely different. From there, it was pitch black and with two malevolent-looking eyes of pure white gazing out. On top was a tassle hat striped green and dark green. His long-sleeved shirt matched. Lastly, he had white gloves, black pants, and black shoes. Who was this? "Mac Rozone," the transformed Swoompster answered. He held one hand out to the bewildered Waluigi and beckoned him with it. "Come on..."

Waluigi got it going. He lunged at his new opponent with his kicks flying. Somehow, the man in green was able to block every last one of these. Just when the blue one was starting to get agitated by this, WHAM!! He got it right in the forehead with a slam from the man's bulging sack. Waluigi squealed and staggered, rubbing at where the blow had been dealt. The transformed Swoompster chuckled.

"You like that?! Well, there's plenty more where that came from..." The green man slung down his bag and started rummaging around inside it. Finally, he found something and he chucked it at his adversary. BOOM!! The bomb exploded right in front of Waluigi's chest. It pushed him back and made him start clutching at a scorched wound. He silently cursed the craftiness of his assailant. "Don't stop!!" the hybrid yelled. Waluigi soon found himself jumping and flipping out of the way of a rainstorm of more bombs. This was even more agitating.

Swoompster cackled as he hurled these explosives at his retreating enemy. He could tell he wasn't going to last long. However, what happened next was something he had not anticipated in the least. WHAM!! The harsh sound of wood breaking rang and the green man was sent flying into the air. By slamming one foot down on one of the planks of the ship, Waluigi was able to instantly form a makeshift catapult. He grinned as he saw his opponent come crashing down. He jumped, landed on the ground with his hands, and flung himself into the air with his feet aiming for Swoompster's mustachioed face. They hit hard, but the man still wasn't damaged. He had brought his arms up just in time. Waluigi scowled.

The crowd held its breath as a green and blue blur plumetted back onto the deck. In the next second, both of the part Mario fighters were back up and flinging their unarmed attacks at one another. Both of them were doing all this with lightning-quick reflexes and harsh blows. At one point, it stopped abruptly with Swoompster suddenly catching both of his enemy's fists in his hands. The two stared each other down. Swoompster smiled deviously.

"Getting frustrated?" the transformed man asked.

"As a matter of fact..." Waluigi put on an equally devilish grin. "I am..."

CRACK!! Swoompster screamed bloody murder. He leapt back feeling the most indescribable pain tearing away at him from both wrists down. Had this blue guy shattered every last bone in them? If so, how? He took a quick look at his adversary for answers, but all he saw was a demonic grin. Once he saw him start to take strides towards him, he panicked. He couldn't fight with two useless hands. He had to get out of this and fast.

Mustering up as much energy to do so as possible, he forced his left hand behind his back and pulled out another ball, this one being checkered red and black. Shakily, he plopped it into both hands, causing it to suddenly become a ball of some blinding light, like a miniature star. Waluigi saw this, jumped back, and winced with one arm covering his eyes. All of the spectating pirates did the same. Once the light died down, it was revealed that Swoompster was back to his old Swoompire self, but still holding that strange orb in his hands. Laser Snifit had Milgurin pinned to the ground at this point, but he was eying this new sphere in interest.

"The Kariboo Sphere," the Swoompire panted. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through in order to get this thing..."

All of a sudden, Laser Snifit was the one feeling infuriated with this man. He jumped off of Milgurin's chest and started pointing accusingly at the Swoompire. "YOU!!" he yelled. "You bastard!! You're the reason Chogun and Davey left us!! I oughtta-"

BAM!! Laser Snifit's left temple was dealt a rough blow from the blunt side of Milgurin's spear. The little Spear-Mask started charging towards his downed enemy with the pointy end forward, resuming the fight. He leapt on top of the 8-Bit and thrusted. With impeccable timing, Snifit caught it with his fins and began to struggle to throw this pest off of him. He wriggled his head to one side to yell to the confused Waluigi.

"Waluigi!! Kill that guy!! I don't care what it takes, just kill him!!"

The blue man nodded. He thumped his right fist against his chest and turned it into an outstretched arm, its palm facing his grey comrade. Then he turned towards the Swoompire once more, only to notice he had that silver Tran Sphere in his hand again. What was it this time?

"This may not be a fair fight," the Swoompire rasped, "so I'm going to change that..."

WHOOSH! He fired the orb. In a split-second, any doubts Waluigi had on his mind on what good this was going to do had become doused. Much to his surprise, the sphere had sprouted a mouth, filled to the brim with very sharp-looking, steel fangs. Waluigi yelped at the sight and ducked. Little did he know that this was exactly what Swoompster wanted him to do. No sooner than when that happened did Waluigi instantly feel a sharp, searing pain in the back of his neck. He shot one hand behind him to clutch at it, and he could tell what the problem was: one lock of his hair had been torn out.

Taken by surprise, he looked back at Swoompster. The Tran Sphere returned to his hands. Waluigi could see it swallow a few brown hairs and then have its mouth fade away. Swoompster's smile had become even bigger and more maniacal. "You," he breathed, "you can't handle YOU!!" The diminutive Swoompire raised the ball into the air again. A huge smash occurred, but not due to the Tran Sphere. This time, Waluigi had been faster...

A few feet away, Laser Snifit was finally getting fed up with his enemy. He feld on tightly to his spear, aimed his snout at the right place, and fired. TSEWW!!

"AAUURRGGHH!!" Milgurin was in incomprehensible pain. He let go of his spear and started staggering about, clutching at his eyes. Both of them were on fire.

Meanwhile, Laser Snifit was hopping back onto his feet. He got himself into a certain stance as though he were starting a race. "Well, Milgie," he said, "it was nice knowin' ya..." The 8-Bit charged forward with his arms out. WHAM!! He rammed his shoulder into the Spear-Mask and started holding him there with his arms. Seeing him continuing to charge forward in their direction, the pirates began to shift out of the way. At last, the final blow was delivered. Snifit skidded to a halt and hurled the yellow Spear-Mask over the edge. A good portion of the pirates watched as this little man tumbled through the air and eventually got swallowed up by the sea. In a big, white, foamy SPLOOSH, the Spear-Mask was gone.

Laser Snifit turned away. Victory was his. Then he saw that he wasn't the only one...

There was something strange about Waluigi. Everyone was in awe of this. He looked as though he was glowing blue. Actually, it looked more as though there were three of him, two of them being transparent, blue ones. All three of them were standing in the same spot, making for one very strange look for the Kamenstein. Before him, Swoompster was lying on the ground, blood streaming from his mouth. "You fr... freak..." he wheezed.

Waluigi didn't listen. He raised his fists, getting himself ready for the next attack. His other two images mimicked this movement, but more slowly, providing the man with a very odd echo-like effect. Then he squatted down and rocketed high up into the sky. The patrons looked upward. Swoompster recognized this as the same technique the man used to dodge those green orbs earlier, but he didn't want to see it be put to good use again. He began to pry himself off the wooden floor.

_Forget it,_ he thought. _It's not worth it!!..._

Waluigi aimed. He pointed his feet downward, ready to slam them into his opponent's head like two missiles. What happened next was instantaneous. BBOOOMMM!! The hit landed. It was so devastating, it sent gigantic waves of vibration ebbing throughout the ship. Every last person felt it. They even felt splinters and pieces of wood fly into their faces as a result of it. Once it was over, they could see that the blue man was the only one standing. Swoompster was nowhere in sight.

"Damn," Waluigi cursed to himself. Slowly, his other two images faded away, returning him to his normal self. "He got away. I was just barely able to hold myself back..."

"Game, set, and match!!"

The pirates all cheered. Waluigi began to pump his arms at them all in his own arrogant little victory dance. He stopped once an awestricken Laser Snifit trotted up to him. "What was that?!" he asked. "What did you just do?!"

"Weren't you listening?" Waluigi responded. "Manajus. Apparently, I can temporily raise my speed and power with it."

"Wow..."

"Alright, you scumbags, move along..."

Laser Snifit and Waluigi were being poked again. The pirates of the S. S. Teacup chatted amongst themselves excitedly as the ghosts of the group led the two winners of the Death Match back below deck. The sounds of the White Sugar Pirates' awe and admiration of this battle slowly faded away in Swoompster's ears. He had gotten far, far away from it all. With his bat-like wings spread, he soared across the waves of the ocean, desperate for a new destination.

_I just want the Kreer Sphere,_ he thought. _That, and a nice hide-out... But I'm not about to risk my life for that!!..._

* * *

"I can feel it in my feet," Waluigi explained, "but, apparently, I can make it go wherever I want."

"I see..."

CHING! The door to the cell opened once more. The prisoners watched as Laser Snifit and Waluigi were shoved back in. The door shut, and everyone was trapped once more. "Just stay there," said the ghost. "I'll be back..." He floated off with his minions again. This suited Tessa just fine. She ran up to Laser Snifit and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Snifit!!" she flipped. "What happened up there?? Where's Milgurin and the other guy??"

Slowly, the 8-Bit put his left hand on the girl's right. "Well, Tessa, as hard as this may be to believe, uh..." Snifit took a deep breath. "They're making us fight to the death up there.

The girl gasped. Similar reactions came out of Guido, Oglian, and Hessen. Others, like Foreman Spike, Wario, Cutlass, and Marlukin, just looked mildly interested.

"How could they do that??" Tessa breathed. "Do you at least get to choose who you get to kill?"

"Well, uh," Snifit hesitated, "not really, I'm afraid."

Tessa gulped. Wario just wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder and gave him a harsh noogie. "Killed that guy, eh?! I knew you weren't completely useless!!"

"Sh-Shut up!!" Waluigi sputtered.

Big Guy was looking pensive. Annabyss and four of the Spear-Masks were still unconscious. Hessen just started looking even more terrified. The rest of the cellmates were either equally worried or excited. The air in this dank place had become rather unusual. It was interrupted with another CHING.

The ghost floated in just as he did before. He pointed to four more people. "You, you, you, and you. Come with me..."

The other caged people looked on as Marlukin got out of his seat and as Masle started following him. The other two fighters weren't budging. The ghost was annoyed by it.

"Come ooonnn," he drawled, beckoning them with his hands.

Very slowly, Halimus and Hessen got out of their seat. Grimly, they walked past the other 15 prisoners until they reached the door. They sauntered out of it and began to follow Marlukin and Masle. Not long afterwards, the ghost closed the door, locked it again, and began to float away. At this point, Tessa had become extremely worried. She looked at Annabyss's motionless form.

"Come on, Annie," she quietly urged. "We NEED you..."

* * *

Just as the original four did, Marlukin, Masle, Halimus, and Hessen were led to the middle of the ship. The pirates were eager to see this next battle. They could tell it was going to be a big one this time. The two winged girls stood to one side and the two Spear-Masks stood to the other. Halimus looked determined. Marlukin just folded his arms. Masle stood beside him patiently and drops of cold sweat were sliding down the side of Hessen's face. The two groups stared each other down. Then the tense moment was broken by Cave Master's announcement. 

"On one side," he said, "we will have the young woman and the little Spear-Mask." Halimus gasped. Hessen's blood ran cold. "On the other, we will have the huge guy and the little girl."

"Well, well," Marlukin chided as he strode to Hessen's side, "an interesting turn of events, eh, Halimus?"

The woman gulped as she looked at this towering man. She could feel the freezing cold fear emanating from Hessen's body. "Don't worry," she said to her. "I won't let anything happen to you, Hessen. Once I kill this man, we are out of here!!"

Marlukin laughed. "Something you've always wanted to say, right, Halimus?" The giant Spear-Mask held out his brutal hands pityingly. "Ever since that fateful day, five years ago, I've always seen it in your eyes. Hatred... Resentment... Vengeance... You've always wanted to take my life from me, but you just couldn't. Something was holding you back. A promise you made... right?"

Halimus said nothing. She stared into Marlukin's eyes as a bead of sweat rolled down her face. She could remember everything. Their parents dying. Her and Hessen spending their days in a building full of other kids. People young and old looking at them strangely. An entire life of pain and loss, all of it leading only to something even worse...

She recalled the day the city got attacked by a man and his seven minions, all of them with spears and masks. People gave it their all against them. They did everything they could to drive these newfound enemies out of their land. Even Halimus refused to give up.

She recalled taking on Marlukin himself. His power was beyond human. Even with her best, nothing worked on him. The woman was defeated, and the man got his way. He grabbed a nearby priest in spite of the spectators' protests. He laid him out on the altar and drove a spear right into his heart. Silence fell and blood dripped...

A strange blue aura enveloped the man's body. The people, angered by this, began to fling themselves upon him. It was useless. All of them were easily swatted aside by this beast. Halimus remembered the threat he made unto them all. She remembered terror striking into all of them like lightning. Darkness and despair swallowed them all...

Then the man made an offer. Suddenly, a very small glimmer of hope began to drift through the air. Small as it was, no one really had a choice. Halimus stepped forward. She made her proposal unto the man. Everyone gasped. Then the young Hessen ran forward, grabbing a hold of the woman's legs. Gently, she reached down and stroked the girl's hair. The crowd became captivated by this. Not even Marlukin could say a word.

Finally, he gave her an order. The woman hesitated, then nodded. He said that that was good and that he'd be waiting. Slowly, he walked out of the room. No one dared to come even within a yard of him.

Halimus knelt down and hugged the young girl. She knew everything was going to be a lot worse for them from then on, but there was nothing else she could have done. She wondered if she had made the right choice...

In the present, Halimus was coming out of her trance. She fixed her gaze back on the gigantic, heartless Marlukin and glared. The giant just laughed some more.

"Yes, that's it," the ogre purred. "Hate me. Detest me. This is the moment you've been waiting your whole life for..."

SHING! Halimus had pulled it out; a sword with an elegant, silver handle and a blade made out of pitch blackness itself with a glow of a yellow-green color surrounding it. Once this happened, the pirates of the S. S. Teacup started hooting excitedly. Once Hessen saw it, she swallowed hard and pulled out a sword of her own, only this one was glowing magenta.

Marlukin laughed again. He raised his beefy right arm, revealing the coiling bracelt on it. He grabbed near its pointy head with his left hand, and the whole thing magically unraveled itself off of the man's arm like a snake. Then it solidified into an actual spear. He banged the bottom of it on the ship's deck. His significantly smaller subordinate pulled out a spear of his own. The pirates were all unquenchably eager at this point.

Cave Master raised his hand up again. "On my mark..." The four fighters got into some attack stances. "Ready..."

"Everything I did," Halimus stated, "I did for my people. Remember that."

"Set..."

Marlukin's eyes smiled. "But can your people... compete with a god?..."

"FIGHT!!"

The smaller fighters clashed their weapons together, as did the other two. Halimus was faster than her opponent. Instantly, she rushed forward and swung her sword. SHING!! Then the sword became stuck. The woman was horrified by why this was; Marlukin had caught its blade between the fingers of his right hand.

"Is that all you have?"

Halimus gritted her teeth at the man. Deftly, he threw the sword away from him. Halimus was knocked back along with it. She landed and rolled on the ground. CHUNK! The woman gasped. Marlukin's spear had just nicked her cheek. Just by looking into his eyes, the female could feel his lust for her pain. She jumped back onto her feet and thrust her sword forward. Marlukin whacked the blade to the side with the dull end of his spear. The impact swung the woman around and slammed her head against the Spear-Mask's weapon. She was down once again.

"Halimus, you can't be serious," the giant said. "Is this the revenge you've been dying for all these years?"

Halimus growled. She jumped back up and spread her wings for the extra lift. She reared her sword back and aimed for the Spear-Mask's thick neck. She didn't make it. "Ugh!!" Marlukin grabbed her in midair by the neck, causing her to drop her sword. She began to struggle to breathe and break free from this man's grasp.

"Why can't you be more like your younger sister?" Marlukin asked. "Look how she fights..."

Hessen tried to chop the little blue Spear-Mask in half, but he skillfully blocked it with the side of his spear. The two of them were trying to push each other's weapons out of the way. SHING! The instruments slid off. Masle made his next move. He pointed his spear forward and charged. Hessen swung her sword upward and clanged it against the long weapon, forcing her opponent to skid on his feet and fall backwards. The little Spear-Mask fell on his back and his spear rolled away. He seethed in anger and then let out a curt grunt. Hessen had slammed her foot onto his stomach. Escape was no longer an option.

All the people of the ship seemed to be in awe of her skill. They were whispering amongst themselves, commenting on this little girl's strength.

"Sheesh, and I thought that huge guy was good..."

"So young, and yet so dangerous..."

"She's like a whole new person..."

Hessen paid them little attention. She just raised her sword up into the air and aimed for the heart. The floating head of the crew became shocked.

"It comes!!" he said.

SHING!! It went through. Hessen's sword was sticking out of the Spear-Mask's chest. His eyes had rolled back into his head and his body had become limp. Masle had been defeated by Hessen.

The young girl pulled the bloody sword out of the newly formed corpse and the pirates all cheered. At last, they had gotten what they wanted. These Death Matches were getting interesting. Marlukin smiled at all this.

"That's the child I raised," he purred. He turned to face the girl. "Hessen. Well done." He threw the choking Halimus from his grasp. The woman landed harshly on the deck. She was coughing and rubbing at her neck. Marlukin ignored her. "No mercy at all. I couldn't be more proud."

Hessen looked up at the towering man and stared with unblinking eyes. She stepped away a bit. "Two of them are dead now," she said to him. "Don't you feel anything??"

Marlukin's huge shoulders shook as he chuckled sadistically. He swayed his head back and forth. "Hessen, I'll tell you what's holding the world back." Marlukin held out his right hand. "It's emotions. People let these feelings that not even they themselves understand take control of them, and they make the most foolish of decisions because of that. They go on killing sprees just because they're angry with the world. They commit suicide just because they feel there's no hope left. They take bullets simply because they're in love..." Marlukin lifted his strong hand up and pointed to his head. "Think, Hessen," he said, "don't feel."

Halimus was back on her feet. Her sword had returned to her hand, and she was ready to fight again. Marlukin saw this and pointed his arm towards her. "Now, Hessen," he said. "Kill your sister..."

Both of the sisters gasped and stopped breathing at the sound of this. The pirates just all started cheering and egging the young girl on, wanting to see some more bloodshed. Marlukin saw the fear in Hessen's eyes and her hesitation. He lifted his spear up and pointed it at the child.

"Choose, Hessen," he said. "It's her... or you..."

Hessen gulped. On several occasions while being forced to be with this man, she could see just how cruel he was. It never ceased to amaze her. Now this same cold persona and lack of compassion was being directed towards her. She had felt despair before, but this was the feeling of being crushed between two massive walls of ice and darkness. She was suffocating.

Halimus watched her younger sister and the predicament she was in. This was enough. The woman clenched her teeth, furled her brow, and started rushing towards the giant Spear-Man with her sword in hand. "MAARRLLUUKKINNN!!!"

CHING! CHING! CHING!! Halimus swung madly at the giant Spear-Mask, but the behemoth was able to skillfully block each one with his spear. It was almost as though she was moving in slow-motion to him. At one point, Halimus swung her sword only to let it be blocked again, but then she dropped down and swung her legs around in an effort to trip the man. Marlukin thwarted this as well. He just jumped over the small woman. Confused, Halimus rolled to one side, got back up and started charging again.

Halimus jumped up into the air. As she did before, she spread her wings. She held her sword out and aimed for the foul man's neck. In the nick of time, the giant bent backwards to dodge the blow. However, this was exactly as she anticipated. She landed hard on the deck, swung one arm behind her and fired her sword like a harpoon. Marlukin was still looking at her upside-down. Surely, this would gouge out one of his eyes...

CHING!! Halimus's sword was sent flying. It had bounced off of something. Shocked, the young woman looked at her opponent. He was standing upright again, this time with a corner of his cape gripped tightly in his right hand so a different half of his body had been covered.

"Useless," the ogre growled. He tossed his cape aside and swung his spear at the woman. Nimbly, she back-flipped out of its way. While in midair, she stuck out one of her hands and caught the sword that had been knocked aside. She landed and got herself in a very unique pose. Her ankles were held close together, her knees were bent slightly, and she was holding her sword behind her with its tip point downward and both hands on the hilt. Halimus closed her eyes. Marlukin scoffed. "The Sword Storm," he said. "You're going to use THAT?"

The pirates all started whispering amongst themselves, trying their best to figure out exactly was going to happen next. They were very confused. Halimus ignored them. She focused solely on one thing: Marlukin's death...

Hessen and the pirates stared as everything became dead silent between Halimus and Marlukin. Both were just standing there. Their eyes bugged out at what happened next: Halimus vanished.

The patrons aboard this pirate ship may have been astonished by this, but Marlukin still looked bored. Clouds of dust blowing in the wind started to materialize around him. They seemed to all be sweeping in specific directions; they were forming a circle around him.

The clouds were starting to spin faster. It was as though they had caught the giant Spear-Mask in a whirling vortex of dust. Then splinters started to fly out of the planks of wood forming the deck. The pirates started to shield themselves again. Some of them seemed to be flowing straight for Marlukin as though they were being told to. In spite of this, he just stood there, waiting.

The pieces were getting bigger. Entire chunks of wood were flying out of the ground and being hurtled towards Marlukin. Somehow, he could sense a particularly large, jagged one was headed his way. He pulled his spear off the deck and got started with some fancy moves of his own. He began to twirl around like a top, all the while with his spear and his cape flying around him. He looked like an atom.

The members of the audience were starting to stand on their toes, desperately wanting to take in every last bit of the action. Seemingly, on this deck there were four different storms raging against one another. There was a spiraling ring of dust clouds, barrages of broken wood, and a red blur in the center of it all. Not only were there wooden pieces being deflected by it; they were also flashes of black and a yellow-green color. Hessen knew perfectly well what this meant. She curled her hands together, held them close to her chest, and gazed at the tempest.

In the next few seconds, the people could have sworn there was an entire tornado on their ship. The pirates were becoming scared out of their wits. Some backed away while others even jumped off. This was too much.

Then a loud noise pierced through their ears. It was like a mountain of steel being split in two. The crowd looked on as the storm began to slow down and fade away. A lone figure burst out of its clouds and landed. It was Halimus. She was panting heavily, but she seemed alright. Suddenly feeling very fatigued, she landed on her knees and jammed her glowing sword into the ground for support. The cloud had not yet dissipated. Hessen felt her heart rise. She stared at her older sister with tears welling up in her eyes. It was finally over...

Then everyone gasped. The smoke cleared away and everything was revealed. Hessen suddenly took in a very sharp breath of air. It felt like her throat had just been stabbed. Halimus slowly turned her head around to see what was there.

Marlukin was still standing. His knees were far apart and bent. His cape was swaying in the wind and both hands were clutched around the spear. Magically, it had formed another coil, this one going around his whole body. There wasn't a scratch on him. He wasn't even tired.

Halimus's mouth hung open. She stopped breathing. Her body became extremely cold. How could any of this be happening?

"Halimus..."

Marlukin's spear unraveled. It turned itself back into its spear-shape in the man's left hand. He stood up straight, faced the young woman, and began to stride towards her.

The woman snapped. The sight of this red man and the fact he could still breathe filled her with a white-hot sea of flames. Every thought and every memory in her mind shattered into a million pieces. She gritted her teeth, yanked her sword out, and charged towards the behemoth, screaming. The entire ship was watching. Even Marlukin couldn't look away. Then...

It was all over. A frightful silence fell upon the entire vessel. Halimus's screaming had stopped. Only rasping breaths were coming from her mouth. When Hessen saw what had happened to her, she lost her breath and stood perfectly still. The giant Spear-Mask had the young woman hanging in midair with a spear going through her heart. Blood dripped from behind her.

"You have lived," Marlukin whispered, "for nothing..."

SHING! The ogre ripped the spear out. Halimus was flung off the weapon. Her body hit the deck hard. A mighty cheer exploded from the bloodthirsty pirates of the ship, but Hessen just screamed.

"HAAALLIIMMUUSS!!!"

The young girl ran past the overgrown Marlukin and up to her downed elder sister. She dropped to her knees and began to hover her quivering hands above the red hole that had been formed in the woman's chest. A white light was shining beneath them. Her brow knitted and her eyes teared up as she bit her lip. This just couldn't be it.

The girl felt a warm hand shakily place itself upon her left cheek. Hessen looked fearfully into her sister's eyes. "Halimus, please! Don't die! You're all I have left!!"

"I'm afraid... it's too late for me, Hessen," Halimus breathed.

Hessen shook her head. She could feel despair clawing away at her dry throat. "Halimus, I, I..."

"Listen, Hessen," the woman said. "Lisylla... Don't let them down... We made a promise..." Halimus struggled to take a few more breaths. Hessen wrapped her little hands around her sister's wrist. "Everything Marlukin said was true; I have ALWAYS wanted to kill him. I thought that this was my big chance and I could finally do it. I thought I had gotten stronger these past five years, but... it seems... he's gotten a bit stronger too..."

Halimus coughed and began to clutch at her fatal wound with her other hand. Hessen gasped and started staring at her sibling more intently. "He's the one keeping our home alive, Hessen," Halimus continued. "I know it won't be easy, but you mustn't give up hope... Whatever it takes, keep your promise... Don't make the same mistake I did..."

Halimus breathed in a few more times. Her lips began to tremble. Hessen leaned in closer. Her elder sister said one more thing.

"I love you, Hessen..."

Halimus's eys closed. Her body became very still and the hand on her sister's cheek became limp. Hessen could no longer feel her hearbeat. Once this happened, the girl could no longer hold back. Tears poured from her eyes. She collapsed onto her sister's chest and began to wail in anguish.

All around her, pirates were cheering, but the young girl was too clouded with her own sadness to hear any of it. She recalled her birthday being celebrated alongside Halimus. She recalled going to see a play with her. She recalled falling asleep right next to her. Halimus was a representation of the only good memories the girl ever had. Now she was gone...

The pirates continued to cheer, but Hessen was still crying. After a while, Marlukin finally got sick of this. He strode up from behind the girl, grabbed her by her collar roots, and began to drag her away from Halimus's body and into the hull, ignoring her tearful yelling and screaming all the while. It took a while, but, finally, the ghosts of the ship were able to muster up their courage and begin to follow this gigantic prisoner of theirs and the little girl.

Soon, only the pirates were left. One of them was a very small girl who didn't blink even once throughout this whole fight. Syrup seemed troubled. She looked up at her taller, older sister and started leaning against her. She wrapped her arms around her legs. The captain responded to this by reaching her left hand down and placing it atop the child's head. Sugar was still staring at where the last two fighters had disappeared off to. Slowly, she closed her eyes and breathed.

_It's a cruel world,_ she thought, _and we are a part of it..._

* * *

"WHAT?! What do you mean you couldn't kill him?! What good are ya?!"

"Hey, like you're any better, fatso!!"

"Don't call me fat, string bean!!"

"What?!"

CHING! Wario and Waluigi stopped arguing. Marlukin walked through the door, carrying the little Hessen in his right hand. Tears were still coming out of her eyes. Behind everyone, the ghosts were closing the door again and floating off.

"Wait right here, kiddies..."

Marlukin threw Hessen to one side. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Tessa, Guido, and Oglian were horrified by this, but the rest of the Spear-Masks in the room had other things on their minds. They could tell the fight had gone well. They cheered for their gigantic leader.

"Yeah!! Way to go, Marlie!!"

"We knew you could do it!!"

"Now we're finally rid of that woman!!"

Marlukin just sat down and scoffed. Tessa was looking back and forth between this merciless giant and the little girl in the corner over there, crying into her knees. Just by seeing this, Tessa could faintly feel her heart being stabbed. She looked up to the giant Spear-Mask and scowled. After basking in more compliments and praises, Marlukin finally took note of this and looked down.

"Is there a problem, young lady?" he drawled.

"Are you really that heartless?!" Tessa demanded. "How can you just kill her older sister like that?!"

Marlukin scoffed and looked away. "You're no different from her..."

Tessa growled. She lifted her hands up, pointed their palms at the behemoth, and started making yellow sparks fly. She stopped once someone grabbed her by the collar from behind. It was Cutlass.

"Tessa, don't," he advised. "Can't you see he's out of your league?"

"But..."

Marlukin laughed. "It's so nice to see that there are still some people in this world who can be reasonable..."

Cutlass stepped away from his young female comrade. She was quivering and biting her lower lip. Then she felt a hand place itself on her left shoulder. She turned to see that it belonged to the sympathetic Big Guy. She looked down sadly and placed her hand on his.

"Oh dear," Oglian said quietly. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take..."

"You're not the only one, Oglian," Guido commented, solemnly.

CHING! The ghosts were back. The prisoners heads were up, and the next four people were called forward. "You, you, you, and you. You're coming with me."

Wario punched the air above him with both arms. "ALRIGHT!!"

Cutlass got up off the floor and smirked. Foreman Spike grinned and started cracking his knuckles. Guido just gulped. Tessa called out to her two comrades. "Be careful, you guys!!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Wario replied as the four of him and the others followed the ghosts out the door. Soon enough, the whole lot of them were gone. Only 17 people remained in the cell. Now Oglian was looking worried. She buried her face into her hands in desperation.

"God," she croaked, "when will it end?..."

* * *

Wario, Cutlass, and Foreman Spike were all very excited as they were led into the middle of the deck. Guido, as usual, was still a bit nervous. Bloodthirsty pirates surrounded them and were anxious to see some more mindblowing battles and horrible deaths. Then Cave Master started talking again and, at last, it could begin. 

"On one side," he said, "we will have the yellow guy and the silver guy. On the other, we will have the green guy and the teal guy..."

The four fighters took their places. Wario stood across Guido and Cutlass stood across Foreman Spike. Cutlass drew his sword and watched as his yellow partner began to crack his knuckles. He said to him, "Are you really that strong?"

"Keh. Worry about yourself, Cuttsie," the Kamenstein Brother replied. The silver alien stared at him strangely.

_"Cuttsie"?..._

On the other side, the two residents of Mario Land were withdrawing their hammers. "Hey, Spike," Guido said, "the guy on the left... Don't you think he kind of looks like you?"

Foreman Spike looked at their yellow opponent from top to bottom. He had to admit that, to an extent, he DID look like him. The muscles, the nose, the mustache, and even the outfit were all quite similar. Exactly why this was, he couldn't guess. The foreman shrugged it off. "Well, kind of... But listen, Guido," the higher soldier said, "that silver guy right there; he's mine. He looks tough."

"Uh..."

"You can have the yellow guy," Spike said. "I think you can take him."

Guido stared down his yellow Foreman Spike look-alike of an adversary. The lesser soldier nodded slowly. Cave Master began the countdown again.

"Ready... Set..."

The two groups locked eyes. The pirates around them raised their fists excitedly. Finally...

"FIGHT!!"

Cutlass swung his sword. Spike blocked it with his sledgehammer. Wario threw his fist at Guido, but the little man blocked it with his own weapon, as his superior did. The two pairs of fighters struggled against each other for a second. Then they flung themselves off of each other and readied some more attacks. The four fighters charged forward and unleashed a fury of sword swings, hammer blows, and punches. Regardless of what was done, the two groups seemed to be evenly matched. With a few beads of sweat forming on them, they exploded off of one another and stared each other down.

_What is this guy?_ Guido thought as he stared at Wario. _A monster?_

_Is this guy even of this world?_ Foreman Spike thought as he stared at the silver swordsman. In response, the two members of Annabyss's crew merely glared back. Then, in a flash, the weapons and the clenched, brutal fists of the group were flying once more. All the while, the pirates of the S. S. Teacup merely continued to watch excitedly. They hoped that, soon, there'd be more blood spilled on their vessel...

* * *

Back beneath the deck, the mood was very dark. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, and Waluigi were basically just sitting around, basking in the uncertainness of the atmosphere. Marlukin was kicking back with his hands behind his head. Some of his Spear-Masks were continuing to slap him on the back and tell him how amazing he was. During all this, Hessen continued to sit in the corner of the brig with were face concealed behind her knees. Even from a distance, her shaking body and her damp cheeks were visible. This was noted by the only other two conscious females of the vicinity. 

_That poor little girl,_ Oglian thought, a very forlorn look on her face. _I don't know what she's been through, but clearly... she didn't deserve it..._

_How?_ Tessa thought. Her gaze shifted from the young girl to the man that ruined her life. _How can he be so cruel?_ The purple-haired girl knitted her brow and scowled at the giant Spear-Mask. _I can't believe it. I can't believe people like THIS exist..._

Forlornly, the young girl tilted her head towards her left. Not too far away from her was Annabyss's unconscious, clawed hand. At first, she paid it little heed. Then something happened that made her eyes light up. The girl gasped and began to stare at the hand more intently. Annabyss's fingers were twitching.

Desperately, Tessa ran up to the woman and began to nudge her. "Annie? Annie, are you awake?" she asked.

"Mm..." Slowly, the woman lifted herself back up. She got herself into a sitting position and began rubbing at her head. "Oh, Tessa dear. I let my guard down. For that, I apologize."

"No, Annie, it's okay. We just need your help, that's all."

Annabyss looked around. She took in her surroundings as well as the other prisoners within them. She noticed Big Guy, Laser Snifit, and Waluigi were there. She also noticed about 14 other people, none of which including Wario or Cutlass. They did, however, include a giant man sitting on the bench over there with his hands behind his head. Once the woman laid eyes on him, she seemed to suddenly start remaining as still as a statue. Marlukin tilted his head towards her. He stared deeply into her eyes for a few seconds, and then looked away.

"Tessa," Annabyss said, "what is going on?"

The girl fiddled with her fingers a bit before answering. She took a deep breath and began to explain it all. "Well..."

* * *

Cutlass swung his sword for his green opponent's neck. The crafty Foreman Spike dodged the blow by dropping to one side, landing on one hand, and bringing one foot up to knock his enemy's sword in one direction. The maneuver surprised the swordsman, and it didn't give him enough time to react to the sledgehammer headed for his left hip. Thinking quickly, the silver alien jumped up, landed on the hammer, leapt off, and went for a downward swing on the foreman's head. Spike merely flipped forward and rolled out of its way. Soon, both fighters were on their feet again, glaring at one another. Swiftly, they picked up their weapons again and charged forward once more... 

Guido and Wario ran towards each other. Guido had his hammer raised and Wario had his fists ready. Once the two fighters were but a few feet away from one another, Guido made his move. He leapt into the air and began to bring his weapon down on his opponent's head. Unfortunately, this didn't work.

WHAM!! The wind was knocked out of him. Wario landed on the ground first, still feeling the ringing sensation in his knuckles from the blow he just dealt. That was one for him. His enemy hit the deck and rolled across it for one second. The diminutive man from Mario Land forced himself back up, clutching at his face.

_Geez,_ he thought. _It seems I've underestimated this guy..._ Then he looked up and saw his beefy yellow adversary sprinting towards him with one fist up. Guido scowled and pulled one of his hands back, anticipating his assailant's moves. _Time to kick it up, I suppose..._

Cutlass leapt away from the foreman and landed. He was about to go charging again when he suddenly saw his opponent perform a rather unusual move: he slammed his fist into the ground. At first, Cutlass thought little of this, but then he felt his legs jolt and he nearly fell to the ground. He couldn't believe his enemy could just create shockwaves like that. Scowling, he looked upward and saw his enemy flying towards him with his sledgehammer out. Reacting quickly, the swordsman sprang into the air and did a flip. WHAM!! Foreman Spike was slammed hard in the stomach with his adversaries' feet and was sent flying. When he skidded to a halt on the deck, he wondered for a second where his hammer had gone when he suddenly heard a loud CHING! With a swing of the alien's sword, the very hammer was spiraling towards the foreman. WHAP! Cutlass raised his eyebrows and smirked. He was surprised his enemy was actually able to catch that.

"You know, you're pretty good," the silver man complimented.

"Heh. I was thinking the same about you," the foreman replied. Then the two of them heard a loud noise that made them jerk their heads in one direction. It was a zapping sound. Wario was being knocked back further and further, each time with a lightning bolt flying out of his opponent's hands nailing him. Cutlass was mildly horrified, but Spike was grinning maliciously. "Too bad we can't say the same about your partner, though..." Cutlass grimaced, scoffed, and went flying towards his enemy one more time...

Wario was getting agitated. He hadn't counted on his enemy having an ability like this. Each time a bolt struck him, he was pushed back a little bit more. He was starting to get dangerously close to the edge of the ship. Once the yellow man realized this, he scowled and decided it was about time he did something and fast...

Guido kept his Thunderhands going. He knew that if he didn't win this battle, only death would await him. _Come on,_ he thought, as Wario began to near the edge. _Fall off!!_

The backs of the yellow-clad warrior's feet did bump into the wall behind him, but he didn't fall off. Instead, his teal foe stopped and took his turn to look utterly surprised. He stepped back and stared at his opponent. The pirates on the ship were staring at him as well. Wario had become three different Warios in one, the other two glowing blue. It was the same technique Waluigi had used.

Wario grinned and raised his fists. "Manajus," he said. "Shall we send it for a test-drive?"

Guido gulped, but he should've been quicker. Before he knew it, this muscular yellow man was slamming fists into his gut, one after another. It felt like an entire gang was beating on him. Once Cutlass saw this, he turned to Foreman Spike and smirked. "You were saying?" he said cockily. Spike growled and ran forward with his hammer once again...

* * *

"I see," Annabyss said, once Tessa's explanation was finished. "So it's finally begun..." 

"...Huh?" Tessa asked, confusedly.

"Up until now, the Kamenstein Bros. have been in a trance," the shadowy woman explained. "These past few days, they've been absorbing all the necessary emotions and experiences in order for a soul to be complete. Happiness, sadness, anger, victory, loss, fear, suffering... At last, it's all complete. They can finally awaken and be one with the world..."

"I see," Tessa said. She let the words of the older woman sink in, and she thought about them for a bit. One second later, she snapped out of it and looked her in the eyes once more. "But, Annie, what are we gonna do? How are we gonna get out of this place?"

"Simple." Annabyss turned to Big Guy who was in the midst of chatting up a storm once again with Laser Snifit. "Big Guy!" she called. The giant Shy Guy pointed to himself, then got up off the floor and began to walk towards his female leader. He leaned down so he could hear her and the woman told him the plan. In response, the oversized 8-Bit slapped himself in the forehead, muttered something about wondering why HE hadn't thought of that, and made his way over to the bars. The muscular fighter spat into his two hands, rubbed them together, and wrapped them around opposing points on the set of bars before him. Then he began to pull.

The prisoners all watched as this gigantic man pulled with all his might. At first, the huge metal contraption he was latching onto was merely trembling and bending backwards. Then little pieces of wood began to fly out of them from the corners. The prisoners' eyes were starting to widen. Even Marlukin seemed to be impressed by this.

Finally, in one huge, metallic ripping sound, the bars were out, but it didn't stop there. With the bars being held high over his head, he strode up to a certain spot on the floor, and he heaved the metal thing he was holding right into it. The result was like a cannonball. CRRASSHH!! The projectile went flying and ripping right through the deck. The prisoners could all hear it echoing as it tore through the floors beneath it. To top it all off, a few seconds after this task was complete, a column of water began to spray out of the newly-formed hole. Now the prisoners were extremely surprised. Big Guy just laughed.

"Well," he said, "that's what you get for messing with us!"

Laser Snifit, Waluigi, and Oglian began to pick themselves up and make their ways towards the recently created exit. As for Marlukin, he just got up and said, "Well, I suppose it's time we took our leave as well..." Then he turned around and threw a fist into the wall. BAMM!!! This new feat was just as impressive as the one that had preceded it, if not even more so. It created a tunnel of broken wood. At the end of it was nothing but blue sky. "Alright then," said the giant Spear-Mask, unraveling the magic spear from his arm, "let's go..."

Marlukin held out his spear with his left hand. It suddenly began to grow longer and coil around, much like a snake. It wrapped itself around the waists of each of his seven remaining minions, including Hessen. The collossal Spear-Mask then turned towards the hole he made with his minions trailing behind him like a giant chain. Before he could leave, though, he was once again interrupted by a certain young girl that had suddenly renewed her hatred for him.

"I can't believe you!!" Tessa yelled. "This whole time, this WHOLE time, you already had the ability to just leave... Just like that?! What's wrong with you?!"

For a second, the Spear-Mask said nothing. Then, without even looking at her, he just said, "Just so you know, a little bloodshed never hurt anyone." He let the girl tremble with hatred before he began to walk out his personal exit, his subordinates lagging behind him. Tessa was still infuriated. She snarled and began to sprint towards this humungous murderer. However, she wasn't able to get very far. Someone had to grab her from behind and stop her. This time, it was Annabyss.

"Annie, please!! That man needs to die! He HAS to!!"

"Tessa," Annabyss slowly said, "we let him go..."

The girl stopped squirming. She turned around with a horrified look on her face. "A... Annie," she said quietly, almost pleading.

"Tessa..." The woman knelt down and wrapped her arms around the young girl. Tessa felt this and could swear her heart was in danger of pounding straight out of her chest. She listened closely as the enigmatic woman slowly spoke once more. "We let... him go..." Her voice was very quiet. It almost sounded like it was choking.

"Annie..."

This somber moment between the two girls was interrupted by some voices yelling from where the bars used to be. "HEY!!" A pack of Dangerous Ducks had suddenly arrived, the leader of which being the most angered by the sight of all this as well as the geyser that was in the middle of the room. "What the hell do you think you're up to?! Trying to escape?! We- ACK!!"

Big Guy cut the noisy man off. He picked him up by his throat and threw him into his slew of of subordinates. The whole lot of them went down like a bunch of bowling pins. Big Guy felt triumphant. He called out to the two that were still in the cell. "Yo, Tessa! Annie! We're leaving! This place is about to sink!!"

Annabyss nodded. She pulled herself away from the younger female and began to stride towards where her other partners had gone. For a few seconds, Tessa stayed put. Looking at the hole in the wall, the geyser in the room, and the new exit, all she could do was think about the previous events and the current ones and how she couldn't believe any of it. Then Big Guy showed up once more.

"Yo! Tessa! Come on!!"

Tessa perked her head towards him. "Alright," she said. Finally, she picked up the pace and ran out of the room, following her seismic friend out. After that, it was finally over. The S. S. Teacup's prisoners were escaping...

* * *

The spectating pirates were beginning to drool with anticipation. Four extremely powerful prisoners were right before them, each of them unleashing all of their potential on one another. Already, the pirates could taste the blood that was dying to be spilt. 

Cutlass and Foreman Spike were swinging away at each other, but, for Wario and Guido, it was a battle of the superpowers. With each flaming punch his opponent threw, all Guido could do was jump out of the way. He had never seen anything like this technique in his life. All he could tell was that it was dangerous.

Things were bad enough for the man in teal. His enemy's reach was starting to get longer. Then the man from Mario Land could hear some yelling behind him. This yellow man had pushed him all the way back into the crowd of pirates! Finally, Guido's brow began to twitch in agitation. He had to get serious about this and soon. He gripped his hammer tightly and readied a single blow...

Cutlass swung at the Foreman's neck. Spike punched the blade off course with his left hand and front-flipped forward. The silver alien saw this and attempted to slam a fist into the side of his opponent's head at the right moment, but he only succeeded in banging it against the man's steel sledgehammer. He grunted and pulled it back, beginning to feel it sting in pain. Foreman Spike landed and spun himself around, sledgehammer in hand. Both fighters were panting desperately.

"What is it with you?" Spike breathed. "Why do you want to live so badly?"

"That's exactly it," Cutlass replied. He gasped a few more times, swallowed, and said, "Unless I kill you, I won't be able to find out, will I?"

"Tch..." Foreman Spike pulled his hammer up and held it behind his shoulders. "I hope you realize that if you kill me, you're killing an entire country..."

Cutlass scoffed and got his sword into another attacking stance. He stared his enemy directly in the eye. "What makes you think I give a crap about some dumb country?"

Foreman Spike snarled. Cutlass just smirked at him. In a flash, both of the wariors were off, mere split-seconds away from bashing and slashing each other's brains out. Then...

BAMM!!! A huge flash of blue light illuminated the deck of the ship. It stopped both Foreman Spike and Cutlass along with all the other people on the ship. All eyes turned to the fight between Wario and Guido. Between the two, Wario was the one with his fist being held defiantly up in the air and Guido was the one with a stunned look on his face and a pair of empty hands. The light was beginning to fade and a lone figure was spiraling away, further and further into the sky. Guido had been disarmed. All that awaited now was defeat.

Wario lowered his fist. He placed it into his other hand and began to crack his knuckles, all the while, keeping a careful eye on his enemy. The pirates had even begun to chant.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

_Damn it,_ Guido thought through gritted teeth. _What do I do now? I can't take him on with the Thunderhand alone!!_

Wario laughed sadistically. He pulled his fist back and aimed carefully for a sweating Guido's face. It was only a matter of time now...

Once Foreman Spike saw this, he cursed beneath his breath. "That idiot," he growled. "What does he think he's doing?!" The foreman began to sprint towards his partner. Cutlass just laughed and began to chase after the man.

"Hey, hey, where do you think YOU'RE going?" the silver man taunted.

Pirates were chanting, Guido was sweating, and two men were starting to run towards the scene of the crime. Wario looked just about ready now. He called forth all of his unnatural strength and began to thrust his fist forward. Before anyone knew it, all of this ended before it even started...

BBOOOMM!!! An explosion seemed to have erupted from within the ship. Everyone on deck could hear it resonating in the air. Some of the pirates, from a certain angle, could see a whole bunch of wood flying out from one side of their ship. Baffled, they looked on and saw more. The next thing they knew, eight different people were flying out of this newly formed hole. Actually, only one of them was flying. He had taken an enormous leap and seven others seemed to be trailing behind him. Like the hammer from before, he was soaring through the sky, but he wasn't coming down. Was there no limit to Marlukin's strength?

In any case, this didn't change the issue at hand for the pirates. They started yelling out. "CAPTAIN!! THE PRISONERS ARE ESCA-"

Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn towards the fights on the main deck again. Actually, the fights were over. The other five prisoners had shown up and put an end to it. Big Guy was keeping a firm hold on the now normal Wario's arms, Annabyss was grabbing a hold of Cutlass' collar, and Oglian was grabbing Foreman Spike by the ear.

"Lemme at him! Lemme at him!! This aint over yet!!" Wario fumed.

"Wario, knock it off! We're leaving!" Big Guy urged.

"Annabyss, I swear, if you don't let go of me-"

"-Cutlass, get a hold of yourself!! For goodness' sake, grasp the situation!!"

"Oglian, get off!! Have you any idea what that guy just said?!"

"Young man, I'll not have you behaving so foolishly!!"

All of the pirates were extremely confused by all this, even their captain. All the woman could do was lean forward over the railing and squint at it all, perplexedly. "What is going on?" she said slowly. Then, just when she needed it the least, more trouble showed up. A Dangerous Duck ran up from out of the door the prisoners had just left and started yelling stuff.

"Captain!! Emergency!! The ship is sinking!! There's a big hole and-"

"-SHUT UP!!" The duck was almost immediately silenced. Laser Snifit, Waluigi, and Tessa had all simultaneously yelled at him and kicked him in various places. He didn't remain standing for long. Capt. Sugar looked on at this and how the two groups of prisoners had reformed. Big Guy, Laser Snifit, Wario, Cutlass, Waluigi, Tessa, and Annabyss were on one side and Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian were on the other.

The captain watched them in confusion and anger. The death matches were going perfectly until this happened. Now their fun had been ruined, the prisoners had escaped, and their ship was sinking. How much longer would their crimes against her and her crew continue? The captain growled and grit her teeth. Once she saw the prisoners and how they were starting to run towards the opposing edges of the ship, the woman reacted even more fiercely. She tore her sword out of its sheath and, with a definitive SHING, she pointed them at the fleeing prisoners. "GET THEM!!!" she yelled. The pirates instantly got to it, and another battle began...

Complete chaos was everywhere. Clubs, swords, and hammers alike were swinging this way and that. Laser beams were flying, spears were stabbing, and punches and kicks were knocking into foes in every direction. Neither side showed any mercy.

Big Guy whalloped a Wanderin' Goom flying towards him with his club and kicked one in the face that was coming from behind. "Think you can keep up, Snifit?" he asked, still continuing to beat up Pirate Gooms and ducks.

Laser Snifit grabbed a Dangerous Duck and threw him into an oncoming crowd of Gooms. "Just watch me!!"

Cutlass slammed his foot into a duck's stomach and grabbed another one by the neck. He tilted his head towards Foreman Spike and yelled, "Yo! Green guy! This is you!!" POW!! The alien slammed his fist into the duck's face and turned it into a welt with blood seeping out of it.

In retaliation, the foreman raised his hammer into the air and yelled, "Oh, yeah?! Well THIS is YOU!!" WHAM!! The foreman turned a formerly charging Wanderin' Goom into a pancake.

"Oh, yeah?!"

Wario was surrounded. Pirate Gooms and Wanderin' Gooms were all around him. To combat them, he merely reached behind himself and grabbed whoever just happened to be there by the arms, ignoring his protests and the quacking noises he was making. The yellow man held the duck like an overgrown baseball bat and began to swing just as the mob began to draw close. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! The Kamenstein Brother was spinning like a drill, slamming into numerous surrounding enemies as he did so. Finally, he stopped himself and sent the screaming duck flying. With a faint SPLOOSH, that particular enemy had been defeated. "How you keepin' up, weakling?" he called as more enemies began to fly towards him.

"Better than you, fat-ass!!" Waluigi retorted as he sent one Dangerous Duck's head flying clean off his shoulders with a single kick. The Kamenstein Bros. continued to beat the living snot out of these pirates, and their captain continued to watch, angrily. Here, the huge man with the club was bashing her minions' skulls in. There, the one in the lab coat was frying them up with lasers. The silver guy was cutting them up and the green guy was smashing them flat. Even the little purple-haired girl and the little man with the Thunderhand were beating her crew up so relentlessly. All it did was anger the woman even further. The icing to the cake was once she saw the yellow one and the blue one standing atop a steaming pile of motionless pirates.

"Losers!! You're all a bunch of losers!!" Wario crowed.

"Nya ha ha ha ha ha- Gugh?!" Waluigi was yanked off the pile by a Dangerous Duck that had suddenly grabbed him from behind. His brother just began to do manly, triumphant poses. Once the captain witnessed this, she fumed and decided that enough was enough.

"Syrup," she said to the small girl nearby her, "you stay put. Sister's gonna clean that fat guy's clock."

"Be careful!!" the young girl yelled as her sister flung herself off the railing and onto the deck.

Wario grinned and flexed his muscles as he danced atop his latest achievement. "Nobody messes with Wa-" The man felt a tap on his shoulder. "Huh?" Once he turned around, he only got a split-second to see a pretty face scowling at him. Then BAMM!! The captain's fist connected with the Kamenstein Brother's gut, winding him, and sending him tumbling backwards down the hill of defeated pirates. Once his back hit the deck of the ship, he stopped, and groaned. He got up and started rubbing where his stomach was hit. "What in the world was-"

SHING!! The captain's sword nearly cleaved Wario's face in half, but he had grabbed its blade with his free hand in the nick of time. "Got a problem, toots?" he said.

"Don't you EVER insult my crew!!" the femme fatale yelled.

"I'll insult whoever I want!!" Wario retorted, knocking the woman over by swinging one leg into hers. The woman yelped and went sprawling for a bit. She stopped herself, got back up, gave the yellow man a hateful stare, and went charging towards him with her sword out. Wario merely beckoned her with one hand and readied a fist with the other...

Meanwhile, Waluigi was in the midst of hopping back on top of the makeshift hill. A Pirate Goom was clinging to his face, beating him over the head with his little fists, but the blue man merely grabbed the nuisance and flung him behind him. He was back at last, but then he saw his older brother taking on a woman with a sword. Waluigi grimaced. "Taking on the captain?" he grumbled. "That glory-hogger..."

Wario looked up and got his fists ready. Capt. Sugar was flying high above him, intending to cleave him in two with her sword upon falling back down. The two mustered up their strength and readied their attacks. One mere second later, and the forces collided in one seismic crack of blood and bruises. Wario skidded to one side and Sugar skidded to another. Wario clutched at his bleeding glove and the pirate captain rubbed a sore spot on her face. In the next second, both fighters stood back up. The woman pointed her sword at her yellow nemesis and raised her free hand up into a defiant fist.

"Let me show you something my mother, the great Capt. Spatula, taught me," the woman said. Then she started to clench her fist so tightly, it began to make her entire body tremble. When Wario saw this, all he did was cock an eyebrow, but when he saw her body become encased in a mysterious red aura, both eyebrows were raised. Capt. Sugar smirked at him. "You can't be a pirate unless you can do stuff like this," she boasted. Then, with a boisterous SHING, she pulled her sword back and bolted towards her mustachioed opponent. Wario only had but the blink of an eye to react...

BBOOOMMM!! Watching from behind the railing, the young Syrup's face became shocked. Wario was still standing. That blue glow of his had returned. The elder woman and her sword had fallen to the ground. Wario raised a fist in front of himself. "Listen, missy," he snarled. "I don't care WHAT ship you're from; if I can still kick your ass, then you're just full of crap!!"

Sugar forcibly pried herself off the deck and sat back up. Her hand gripped her aching face and her teeth gnashed. When she glanced up at her yellow assailant, her pupils shrank. His glowing blue fist was coming at her in an uppercut. The woman was just barely able to let the smallest yelping sound escape her lips. WHAM!! Wario's fist connected with her stomach. The pirate woman went skidding across the deck. She slammed into the wooden wall from behind and fell to the ground. Her head tilted to one side. Her eyes rolled back into her head and foam dribbled from her mouth. The red glow surrounding her gradually faded away. Wario scoffed, cracked his knuckles, and made the blue glow from his own body fade away as well.

Up above, the young Syrup couldn't believe her eyes. Her honorable older sister had become so bent on giving that ugly man what was good for him, only to have it all thrown in her face. Now the younger of the female pirates wanted him dead. She grabbed a hold of the bars of the railing and let him have it.

"YOU!!" Syrup shrieked. Wario looked up, uninterestedly. "Look at what you've done to my big sister!! Oh, when I get my hands on you-"

"-You'll what, brat? Beat the snot out of me? Yeah, right. Listen, why don't you go crying to your mama before you get hurt, alright?"

Syrup shot out a very cat-like growl. Almost instantaneously, she flung herself down from the balcony, landed on the deck, and began charging towards the yellow man with her little fists flailing. Wario rolled his eyes and wiped his hand on his face. "Sheesh, why do I gotta..." The Kamenstein Brother was starting to stick his left foot out as if to trip the little three-year-old coming at him when he heard it.

"GUUUYYYSS! COME OOOONN! WE'RE LEAVING!!"

Big Guy's voice was calling from just off the ship. The three of him, Laser Snifit, and Tessa had already gathered atop Annaby'ss head in Nep-Enut form once again. Wario was too busy thanking the heavens for this to notice Syrup actually had tripped over his foot and fell flat on her face. He was already running towards freedom when the girl got up with an extremely red visage.

"That slime-head!!" she growled.

"Miss Syrup, please. Leave it to us!..."

Wario suddenly stopped running. He swore he could feel six huge things flying towards him. He looked behind him and his eyes bugged out. The spiky Koopa Troopa, the Cave Master, the penguin with the boxing gloves, the floating head, the giant bird, and the ghost were all flying towards him with their fists and their weapons flying. The yellow fighter doubted he could take all of them at once. Then...

CRACK!!! They each went flying off of the ship and splashing into the water. Wario was only able to catch a glimpse of an orange shoe. Whatever it was, it sent those guys scattering like billiard balls on a pool table. Then he saw Waluigi landing on the deck behind him as though he had just done some heroic deed. Wario made a small huffing noise. "Their six best guys," he grumbled. "That glory-hogger..."

"You say somethin', bro?"

"Nothin'..."

Syrup watched in awe and then hatred as these two guys ran off. She scraped her tiny fingernails against the wooden boards of the deck. There was no way she'd be able to let them get away with this...

"Yeah?! Well, this is you with a sword comin' out of ya!!"

"Yeah?! Well, this is you with a concussion!!"

"Yeah?! Well- ACK!!"

Waluigi grabbed Cutlass by the collar roots and began to drag him off the deck. Guido was starting to do the same with his superior, Foreman Spike. The two groups ran past the still seemingly endless amounts of pirates and jumped off of their ship. Wario, Waluigi, and Cutlass landed safely on Annabyss, and Foreman Spike and Guido landed safely on Selkford. Both of the groups began to sail away from the S. S. Teacup as the pirate ship slowly began to sink into the briny depths. On its deck, pirates everywhere were either running around frantically or licking their wounds. In the midst of it all, the young Syrup was helping her beaten older sister back onto her feet. A scowl remained on her face.

_If I ever see that pile of mustard barf again,_ she thought, _I'll kill'im..._

On Annabyss's head, Big Guy was feeling some of his rippling biceps, Laser Snifit was shaking his head, Cutlass was sitting down with his arms folded and his face scowling, and Waluigi and Tessa were just sitting down. Wario was thinking to himself. _I don't care much for that little twerp,_ he thought, _or that woman for that matter. That little teal guy, though... He and I have something to settle..._

On the sea camel, Foreman Spike and Oglian were in the middle of arguing with each other. Guido just ignored them and kept to his thoughts. _I hope I won't ever have to see any of those people again,_ he contemplated. _I just want my hammer back..._

Oglian stopped arguing with the foreman, leaving him to turn his back from her and fold his arms haughtily. She asked the lesser soldier, "You're sure you saw it go in this direction, dear?"

"Yes, I'm sure," the small man replied.

"Alright," Oglian replied. "But lemme just warn you, if it IS in that direction, we may have to look for it in the Forest of Dheos, and that is a very dangerous place."

Guido paused. "Alright, Oglian..."

The mustachioed man lifted his head up and looked into the sky. _Dangerous, huh?_ he thought. _What could possibly be more dangerous than what we just went through?..._

* * *

"I see," Dr. Kamenstein's father said as he finished up the last of his coffee. "So that's what happened." Dr. Kamenstein nodded.

"Our son is quite the renegade, isn't he?" the mother commented.

"He sure is!"

"Yes, well," the son replied sheepishly. He got up and began to gather the empty cups from himself and his parents. He had begun to near the kitchen when his mother called after him.

"Oh, Amos, you don't mind if we stay the night, do you?" she said.

The doctor hesitated for a moment. Then he said, "No, that's fine."

"Ah, thank you. What would we do without a son like you?"

The Madscikoopa gave her a subtle smile and continued to enter the kitchen. As he carried the coffee cups with him, he thought to himself about how his parents may have returned, but Storko had not. He wondered deeply where he could have gotten to and if there was any hope left. He wondered the same about his two sons. Once he started pouring new cups of coffee, he furled his brow. He knew there was only one thing he could do. _It's as she said,_ he thought. _If I want anything done... I'll have to get done with the Kame Saucer..._

* * *

Things had calmed down significantly from the group's encounter with the White Sugar Pirates. At this point, all that was left for them to do was to continue their journey to Uaurpe. The others seemed to be in good enough spirits, but Tessa couldn't stop looking so serious. With her arms wrapped around her knees and her eyes staring forward, she remained thinking. This was an ordeal she most certainly wasn't soon going to forget. It had so much bloodshed, pain, and loss in it. All kinds of people were responsible for it all. But, out of all of them, one man stood out in the young girl's mind: the man with the spear, the mask, and the red cape. Every time the girl even thought of him for one split-second, her blood would boil. It was too much.

"...Annie?" she quietly said, not being able to take the questions for much longer.

"Yes, dear."

"Why did you let him go?"

Annabyss sighed deeply. "I met all kinds of people while I was Astral Projecting, dear. By far, one of the most terrifying was that man." Tessa shifted her eyes towards the woman, though she wasn't sure if she could actually see her from there. Annabyss continued explaining. "Countless times, he has attacked villages, torn apart families, broken people's hearts, and slaughtered any who got in his way. His strength is so vast, he doesn't even need a gang in order to do it all. Frankly, dear, not even I dare to oppose him..."

Tessa's eyes trembled a bit. "Why does he do it, Annie?" she asked, her voice keeping very gentle. "What's he after?"

"He has devoted his life to one person," Annabyss answered. "Golden Diva."

"But who is she?"

"She is one of those who fought 300 years ago."

"Three-hundred years ago?"

"Yes..."

During the conversation, Cutlass was still sitting defiantly with his arms folded. He was only able to catch so much about gods trying to take over the world when he took his attention away from the girls of the group. He closed his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. _I don't know why,_ he thought, _but I just don't feel like I care what happens to this world._ The swordsman opened his eyes and looked forward in the direction the group was heading. _All I want,_ he thought, _is to know why I'm here..._


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**  
Once again, the sky was beginning to take on an orange hue. Soon, the stars would start shining and everything would become peaceful. Even the Yoshies of Yoshi's Island seemed to know this. In front of Xoshi's house, Pinky and Oshi were still standing guard. In actuality, though, they were sitting down. While the other Yoshies of the island were dragging batches of fruit and other things back to their huts, and while others were outside playing for just a few more hours, these two guard Yoshies were engaged in conversation.

"Me?" Oshi said. "I like the gentle ones. I'd like one I'd know would never lash out at me."

"Eh, not me," Pinky responded. "I actually think I'd be happier with one of the more vicious ones. They're more fun."

"...More fun?" Oshi stared at his friend as he nodded. This lasted for a second more, and then something tan in the corner of his eye made him snap his head towards a different direction. Lo and behold, Jeila was walking around. "Oh my god... It's her!!"

"Stop drooling, you freak! Are you a dog, or something?!..."

The tan Yoshi girl that was passing by was carrying something in a basket of straw. As she wandered, she was just barely able to catch the sight of Oshi over there being bonked on the head by his friend. She giggled, shook her head, and walked on.

Oshi rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Not so rough, Pink," he moaned.

The other Yoshi held his hands out and shook his head. "You couldn't have her even if you wanted her, man," the Yo'ster clarified. "She's with Xoshi. Didn't you know?"

Oshi suddenly looked very forlorn. "Gyah, what's with that guy?? We're going through all this trouble to keep his house safe from burglars, and whatnot. The least he could do is let me have my girls!!"

"Easy now, man. She's out there, waiting for ya. You just gotta be patient."

"Gyah..."

Jeila had entered the woods. With both hands on the basket in front of her, she tilted her head back, gazing deeply at the orange-tinted leaves hanging overhead. _I want you back,_ she thought, thinking of a man with brown scales and a shy look on his face. _It's just not the same without you..._

"For the last time, you punk, I said NO!!"

Wham! "OOF!!"

Jeila's eyes widened. No sooner than when she set foot out of the woods did she come across a rather interesting sight: a teal Yoshi lying down on the ground, clutching at his stomach. His red-orange friend was standing behind him looking horrified. A third, female Yoshi with red skin stood before him with one leg up. She put her foot down and huffed. "Beat it!!"

The red-orange Yoshi made a panic-stricken sound, not unlike a scream. He grabbed his teal friend, hoisted him onto his saddle, and ran off with his tail beneath his legs. Jeila looked mildly surprised. She approached the red Yoshi. "Wow, they were in for it," she commented. "What happened, Yoshika?"

"Ah, you know," the red Yoshi said. "He comes up to me, starts talking about how great me and him would be... He wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Wow," Jeila replied. "You, Yoshiki... You all seem to have that skill."

"Ah, it's nothing." The red Yoshi scratched the back of her head. "I could show you how to do it if you want. Could come in handy."

"Hmm... It probably would..."

In due time, the two girls were walking around in the opening of the woods together. They were getting closer to the priest's house and talking to each other.

"So, what boy WOULDN'T you have said no to?" the tan Yoshi asked.

"Well, I dunno... Maybe one with spunk. One that could actually block one of my kicks."

Jeila laughed.

"You know, now that I think about it, that Xoshi kid might be a good match for me..."

Jeila gasped and knit her eyebrows at the red woman.

"Come on, Jeila, you know I'm joking."

"I know, I just..."

The two girls had come within a few feet of the house. The tan one's father didn't hesitate to poke his head out of its front door. He seemed happy. "Ah, Jeila, my sweet! Did you get the dark orange guts?"

"Yes, papa, I did." The girl handed her father the jar of the orange substance from her basket.

"Ah, splendid." The man took the jar happily. Then he noticed the red Yoshi his daughter was with. "Ah, Yoshika! Come for the Super-Happy Tree? That must mean it's Monday!"

The red girl laughed a bit. "Yes, sir, it is."

He began to walk her through the house and through the backdoor. "Ah, yes, and that's how you and your family stay strong, right?"

"Yes, sir..."

Jeila stayed behind. She watched as the other two continued heading for the Super-Happy Tree. She took a good look at her red friend and thought about her strength. _Just like Yoshiki,_ she mused. The girl lifted up her right hand and looked at it. _If I were strong like that... would I be able to protect the ones I love?..._ Thus, the sun continued to set on Yoshi's Island, but the lives of its citizens carried on...

* * *

Wham! "OOF!!" 

One fierce punch to the gut, and Big Boo of the Eight Spookalings was down. The pink Yoshi of the group that had done this to him, stood back, cracked her knuckles, and scoffed. Since their last battle, her skill had not rusted in the least. Rather, it had become sharper.

As for the other ghosts, they too were sparring with one another. Holy Troopa was taking on Dorreen, and Princess Cherry Blossom was taking on Capt. Spatula. The only three members of this group that weren't honing their skills were the leader and the two Werewolves. The trio was huddled beneath one of the trees of the swamp they were still at. Even with the sounds of swords clashing and fists connecting, this three-some could hold an important meeting. At last, they nodded heads and took it to the next level. The Wereyoshi got up and yelled to the others.

"Alright, everyone, get over here! We decided we may have a plan!"

Obediently, the other ghosts calmed down, sheathed their weapons, and started floating towards the designated area. Once all nine were gathered, King Boo got it started.

"Alright, everyone," he said. "We've put a great deal of thought into it by now, and we've managed to figure one thing out: if we want our world to be freed from the Melon Bugs and their master, Tondariya, we'll have to get as serious as possible... Unfortunately, we can't do it alone..."

The others began to murmur worriedly. King Boo understood how they felt, but he wasn't done yet.

"We decided if we want to pull this off, there's only one person we can go to: Drubba..."

The others gasped. They definitely hadn't been ready for this. "That man?" Cherry Blossom spoke up. "But didn't we kick him out of the kingdom for having such unorthodox solutions for everything?"

"Yes, we did," King Boo replied. "We never did like doing anything by means of the Twelve Gods of Chaos... But, as much as we'd hate to admit it, that man always knew what he was talking about. Who knows... Maybe we can get something out of him..."

The other ghosts began to murmur amongst themselves uncertainly again. It was quite the difficult decision for them to make. While they were discussing it, though, they were also being spied on. Behind the bushes yards away from them was a very strange quartet: Razeil and the the Three Boombateers...

"I don't get it," Razule said. "What's up with those guys? What's their cheesecake?"

"Don't you know, son?" Razeil responded. "They're the Spookalings. They've got monkeys grinding ropes into checkerboards. They've got to get their backs cracked by one King Turnip. A big ship full of bananas and tarantulas, if you ask me..."

"Ah, I see..."

Goomba Prince was dead confused again. "Uhh... Translation?" he said to Ren.

"These ghosts are known as the Spookalings," the Raven explained. "They work for a powerful being known as King Turnip. He mysteriously disappeared a long time ago, but they feel they can bring him back somehow. They feel he's the only one that can face Tondariya, but in order to bring him back, they need to gather a great amount of spiritual energy. The question is how."

Goomba Prince stared blankly at the Raven. "All that from that?" he said. "How do you do it?"

"Eh, you pick up on it."

"Huh. I don't think I could EVER pick up on it..."

The Spookalings were still very anxious. All of them were talking rather loudly. Finally, King Boo put a stop to it.

"Guys, guys!!" he called, quieting them down. "We've all been through some pretty rough times. We've fought enemies and hardships plenty of times, but our family and friends are still out there..." The other Spookalings knew perfectly well what he was talking about, Yoshiki, Jax, and Capt. Spatula especially. "I know even King Carrot, my father, is fighting alongside us in all this. The point is, we can't let any of them down. We have to do anything it takes in order to set things right, even if it means teaming up with someone like Drubba..." King Boo's face became very serious. His fins curled into fists and he raised his voice. "So, who's with me?!" he exclaimed. "Are we gonna go out there and fight for our King Turnip, or are we gonna let something as dumb as an old enemy get in our way?! Come on, answer me!!"

The Spookalings cheered. They were going to do this. They pumped their arms and raised their weapons. Once they did so, though, their four spies started getting restless.

"Okay, guys," Razule said quietly. "On my signal..."

The ghosts were standing and floating defiantly. They faced forward with their crowned leader taking the front. "Alright, guys!" he called. "Now let's do this! HEAD FOR DRUBBA!!"

"YYEEAAAHHH!!!"

King Boo swung his right fin forward energetically. "FORWARD!!"

The others followed his example. They swung their arms and weapons forth and yelled out. "YE-"

King Boo suddenly became very puzzled. That last cry was nowhere near as enthused as the first. He turned around and inquired about this. "What's wrong with you guys?" he said. "Come on, put some more-"

The head ghost stopped. He got a good look at the four of Holy Troopa, Dorreen, Capt. Spatula, and Cherry Blossom. They were looking at their hands, flipping them back and forth in confusion.

"What the?" King Boo uttered. "Your weapons..."

"OVER THERE!!" Capt. Spatula screamed, pointing menacingly at the Three Boombateers and Razeil. Ren was holding Cherry Blossom's staff, Razule had Dorreen's parasol, Goomba Prince had Spatula's sword, and Razeil had Holy Troopa's bow'n'arrow. All four of them looked giddy.

"We got'em!!" Razule squealed. "The weapons!!"

"Time to go!" Razeil announced. In the blink of an eye, the four intruders had sped off, leaving only dissipating clouds of dust in their wake. The nine ghosts had all become extremely ticked.

"Drubba can wait," King Boo snarled. "AFTER THEM!!!"

In a flash, the ghouls were off, stampeding and flying through the many trees of the Forest of Dheos like mad. On all of them, veins were bulging, and their claws and fangs were bared. They would catch these little pests and make them pay. Absolutely no one was allowed to impede on their goals.

King Boo, Jax, Yoshiki... All three of them were especially infuriated. They had families to fight for. Parents, children, and siblings alike; they were counting on them. For this, those four nuisances were dead. However, in a sense, they were alone...

Capt. Spatula narrowed her eyes as she glided through the leaves and the bushes. _Do what you will,_ she thought grimly. _If it gets me my money... I'm all for it..._

* * *

On the deck of a ship docked near a forest made of paint, three men similar to Hammer Bros., save for their white and blue outfits, were shuffling their feet in rhythmic patterns and in perfect unison. They were practically all of the same mind. Suddenly, in the midst of their dance, they spun around and began to vocalize. 

_We are the Sailor Bros.!__  
__Men of the ocean breeze__  
__We live like kings__  
__As we ride upon the seas_

_When danger comes our way__  
__We just leap into the fray__  
__And we bring it to its knees__  
__There's just no stopping us__  
__'Cause we drink and fight and cuss__  
__We do as we please!_

_We are the Sailor Bros.!__  
__We are better than you!__  
__We-_

"No, no, no! You guys got it all wrong!!"

The Sailor Bros. all stopped and looked at their fussy choreographer, a Koopa Troopa with a blue shell riding aboard the Koopa Cruise. Behind him, sitting down and leaning his back against one of the outer walls of the ship was a man with a red shell. He glanced uninterestedly at the scene before him and he continued trying to solve the Rubik's Cube in his hands.

"It's left, right, right, left, spin, and right. How many times do I have to tell you?!"

The dancers weren't without their retorts, though.

"I told you, I've got a fear of things that turn left!"

"Well, I _would_ be able to not screw up if this guy here didn't have this huge hairy mole on the back of his head..."

"What did you just say?!"

The Koopa with the Rubik's Cube sighed as his peers continued to argue amongst themselves. In time, their leader finally got sick of it and just said, "Whatever!! Let's just go on our break already."

The others were fine by it. Soon enough, the Sailor Bros. had gone their separate ways. The blue-shelled Koopa Troopa expasperatedly waltzed up to the more relaxed red-shelled one. "Musical coming along nicely?" the seated one asked.

"It's tiresome," he replied. "But we'll get it right. I swear to god, we will."

"Mm."

The blue one said nothing. A second later, he brought something else up. "So, uh, what do you think the others are doing?"

"What... Kamek and them?"

"Yeah."

"Well, you know," the red-shelled one said as he succeeded in turning one side of his cube white. "Bowser's probably whining about something, Helga's probably reading a book, and Gorroh's probably working on his memoirs. Nothing special."

"I see," the blue one replied. Then he said, "What's the deal with those memoirs, anyway?"

"I'm not sure myself. I heard they're His Majesty's recordings of the greatest adventure he ever had. The time he fought during the War of the Shy Gang."

"What was he after?" the blue one asked.

"The same thing they were ALL after: the Tondariya Pieces. Well, either that, or they were trying to destroy them, who knows. Anyway, Gorroh wanted them. Rumor has it, they all possess great power. This is because they're all, well, parts of Tondariya. There's her magic, her speed, her aim, her dexterity, her agility, her strength, and her stamina. For a while, they were all over the place. Gorroh looked everywhere for them. Then he found out they were in one place: Vedgia, land of the Vedgian people. The final battle took place there, at its capital.

"Everyone was there. The Shy Gang, the Super Mushroom League, the Demonic Jesters... Even a bunch of space aliens showed up. It was quite the battle. Gorroh fought his hardest. He wanted those pieces SO badly... But then..."

The red one let it hang for a second. In the background, the Sailor Bros. were pointing fingers at each other and yelling something. Pretty soon, they were beating their fists against each other's heads. The blue Koopa Troopa paid it no mind. He asked, "What happened?"

"Well," the red one said. This time, the red side of his Rubik's Cube had become solved. "You know what forbidden techniques are, don't you?"

"I've heard of'em."

"Well, I heard they're these elemental attacks people can do but twice during their lifetimes. Whenever they use them, miraculous or even scary things happen. When the final battle came around, it came to an end once someone used one such technique. The explosion was made of gold fire, or something. A star-elemental one, most likely. Everyone was either killed or... something else. Gorroh was flung far away. Whatever the case, he had this person that used the forbidden technique to thank.

"The fool," the red Koopa Troopa muttered as he got the green side of his cube. "If he tries that a second time, he'll die."

The blue Koopa Troopa nodded. Behind him, the Sailor Bros. were all covered in bruises and steaming bumps on their heads. They were being carried off by the White Magikoopas of the ship and their stretchers. The red turtle with the cube continued.

"Anyway, whatever it was, Gorroh apparently thought it was worth talking about, so... That's his memoirs." He commenced spinning the layers of the cube around some more, this time attempting to get the orange side. "As for those other people, the Super Mushroom League and the Demonic Jesters... They're probably ramming their faces into a bunch of trees right now, for all I care..."

"Hm," the blue Koopa Troopa grunted. He watched as his red companion fiddled with his cube some more until he solved the orange side. That was four down. "Where'd ya get that thing, anyway?"

"I found it."

"Hm..."

The red Koopa Troopa had just gotten started on the yellow side when he and his blue partner started hearing a commotion. All over the ship, there seemed to be troops all gasping and yelling about something excitedly. When the two turtles listened a bit more closely, they seemed to be getting all worked up over... a flying Yoshi...

"What's this about a flying Yoshi?" the blue one asked.

"Eh-"

Suddenly, the two tortoises looked up. Finally, they could see what was flying. Sailing right over their heads without any wings or anything was indeed a Yoshi of some sort. Strangely enough, he appeared to be made out of gold and various precious gems...

"What is that?!" the blue one blurted.

"I-"

Then something else flew overhead. This time, it appeared to be two female Magikoopas flying around on broomsticks. If anything caught the red Koopa Troopa's attention more than the strange Yoshi did, this was it. His eyes bugged out and his fingers tightened around the cube he was holding. The blue Koopa Troopa was surprised by this.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Those two," the red one uttered. "They... Kamek dealt with them a while ago. They're enemies!!"

"Crap," the blue one said. "And they're headed for the mansion!!"

The red one tossed his cube aside and jumped up. "Let's go."

"Right!..."

Far away from the Koopas' ship, the Kroshi was descending through the air. His bare feet slammed onto the grassy floor of the Clattagin Woods and he leapt through the air once more in another tremendous leap. He refused to slow down even slightly.

_Power is nearby,_ he thought. _I can FEEL it..._

Behind him, the two witches, Kammelina and Kammeo, were still trying desperately to catch up with this deranged Yoshi, a task that was proving to be quite difficult. Kammelina most certainly was trying her hardest, but in this instant, she felt someone was lagging.

"Kammeo!!" she yelled to her sister. "Hurry it up! In case you've forgotten, this is serious!!"

"I know, sister, it's just... Somehow, I get the feeling we're being followed!"

"What?! Don't give me that! Just pick up the pace already!!"

"Fine..."

What Kammelina didn't know was that they were indeed being followed. Beneath them running amidst the trees of the Clattagin Woods were a few Koopa Troopas, their sights being set on a couple of witches flying away from them. They were pretty steady in doing this, at least until one of them suddenly quit the race. The one in the lead ran back to check up on his comrade.

"Oi, are you okay?" the blue Koopa Troopa asked. His red-shelled companion was checking out something he had managed to stumble upon. It was a big cup-like machine with a propeller on the bottom and a clown's face painted on the front. Both Koopas seemed to be quite intrigued with it. "What is it?"

"This?" the red one replied as he rubbed his chin, staring it it. "My find of the day..."

* * *

"Swampic's Swamp... Haven't been here in a while..." 

The Six Swoompires were still in the process of turning their home, the Forest of Dheos, upside-down in hopes of finding a certain comrade of theirs. This time, their travels had led them back to a rather familiar territory. Judging by the footprints here and there, people had been here recently, but did any of them belong to who they were looking for? So far, this was looking doubtful.

While the others continued to turn stones and check even the smallest of spaces, two of the Swoompires remained out of everyone's way, taking a break. They stood near the trees surrounding the swamp and watched their companions work. The one who had just spoken then took another huge bite out of a dead hawk he had been munching on and started chewing.

"This isn't as good as that squirrel I had a little while ago," Swine grumbled. His leader, Duke Swuke, just remained standing firmly with his arms folded.

"Gorge yourself if you must, Swine," the tall Swoompire said, "but never put your appetite before your duty."

"Che," Swine scoffed. "Like you're one to talk..." Duke Swuke shifted his eyes towards his partner warningly. Swine merely ignored the look and bit off the hawk's head. "Say, Swuke," he piped up. "What if it turns out Swoompster's not here?"

"Then we look elsewhere."

"Yeah, but what if it turns out we can't get him back no matter what we do?"

The duke paused for a second. "Then we find a new Swoompster."

"Hmm..." The hefty Swoompire peeled a large strip of skin of the hawk's corpse and sucked it into his mouth like spaghetti. "Where we gonna get a guy like that?"

"Wherever greedy people go, we will find them..."

The two Swoompires looked onward. They could see Swan and Swoosh arguing with each other once more, but that was normal. They also saw the gigantic Swampic lumbering up to the crotchety Sward. The behemoth stood erectly for one moment, then hung his head. Sward extended a hand and patted him on one of his muscular forearms. It was all the old man could do, especially considering the vast difference in height between the two. In time, they had joined up with Swan and Swoosh, and the four Swoompires were walking up to the remaining two.

"Well?" Duke Swuke demanded.

"He's not here either," Swan stated. The duke tilted his head downward ever so slightly. Swan went on. "I don't get it," she said. "What could drive him away from us? What could drive him away from this beauty?" The woman placed one hand on her slanted hip and the other behind her head, suggestively. With his shoulders drooped a little, Swoosh slowly turned his head towards the woman. Swan ignored this and continued on about Swomopster. "What does he want?"

"Orbs," Duke Swuke elicited. He spun around on his heel, twirling his cape a bit in the process. "We continue our search..."

With that, the authoritative Swoompire left. Swine was the first to follow his example, then Swoosh. Swan, on the other hand, was still standing there. She had an eyebrow raised at her leader and his two loyal subordinates. The next thing she knew, she could feel someone's hand placing itself calmly on her left forearm. She looked down and grimaced.

"Hands off me, you prune," she snapped, swatting Sward's hand away. The elderly Swoompire shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead on his cane.

"As you wish..."

Swan shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. She began to leave the swamp as well. This left the hulking Swampic. He slowly walked up to where the others had been and turned around, getting one last look at his murky domain. People had been here, but none of which were the right one. The giant Swoompire heaved a raspy sigh and continued walking. Another unsuccessful outcome for the Six Swoompires...

* * *

In the middle of the Clattagin Woods somewhere, a very dubious group of eight was still marching through. They seemed to be in high enough spirits. Each of them were talking amongst themselves as they went on with this search of theirs. Groove Guy and Groovum were in the back, Jester, Night Guy, and Taffy Kong were right in from of them, Rudy and Har-Harlequin were in front of them, and walking ahead of all the others was Katunk. All of them had different things on their minds. 

"Eh, let's see here," Groove Guy said as he scratched his head and looked around. "I spy with my little eye something... blue."

His partner, Groovum, looked up. "Is it the sky?"

"BINGO!!" The two 8-Bits began to hop up and down and cheer excitedly. Finally, they calmed down and Groovum took his turn.

"Okay, okay. I spy with my little eye... something green."

Groove Guy looked beneath them. "Grass?"

"BINGO!!" The two guys began to cheer again.

"Okay, okay, my turn! Umm..."

In front of them, the suave Taffy Kong seemed to have a more serious look on his face. He kept looking around, keeping his eyes peeled by the second, but he couldn't find what he was looking for. "I spy... women..."

Jester, right next to him, gave him a condescending look. "Do those eyes work?" he said. "There's one right in front of you."

"HOT women," Taffy Kong elaborated.

"What's it matter?" Night Guy commented. "They all look the same to me."

"And it is exactly that that will become your downfall," Taffy Kong replied.

Jester and Night Guy looked at him. "What?" they said.

"Think about it," Taffy Kong said. "Sooner or later, you're gonna have to get yourself a woman. If it doesn't matter which one it is, then you may as well say it doesn't matter whether you live or not."

Night Guy rolled his eyes up. "You thinkin' those dirty thoughts again?"

"I'm thinking about life, you idiot," the orangutan corrected. "To every man, it is imperative to maintain the family name. You can't do that unless you're with the right woman."

Night Guy was suddenly staring at his simian partner. He seemed to have become greatly intrigued. Jester was less impressed, though.

"You're only talking nonsense," he said. "All you want to do with these women is act like a fool around them."

Night Guy looked as though he had been snapped out of a trance. Taffy Kong, on the other hand, was being defensive. "Trust me, Jester," he said, "you'll understand one day." Both Jester and Night Guy stared at the man. Between the two, Jester was the one still being more skeptical. "Anyway, just think about it," the monkey added.

The three clowns became quiet after that. They continued walking, although, behind them, they could faintly hear someone saying something about spying something gold...

In front of the three, Har-Harlequin was moving steadily, but her superior was lagging behind a bit. He looked out of it. "Come on, Rudy, quit slacking off!!" she nagged.

"Have a heart, Har-Harlequin!" Rudy pleaded, panting at the same time. "I'm doing the best I can!"

"Hmph. You'd be able to do better if you weren't so fat."

"Come now, that's so blunt of you," Rudy complained.

Har-Harlequin ignored his protest. She gestured in front of her. "Look at Katunk, Rudy. Even HE'S doing better than you. His friend just left him, and yet his resolve is still running strong. Why can't you be a bit more like him?"

Rudy stared at their spiky friend and started thinking. The thought had never crossed his mind, but Katunk really was doing quite well for one in his situation. He took a moment to appreciate the inspiring will of this person. Then the head clown began to wince in pain. His feet were still killing him.

"Even so," the man said, "I really wish I'd have brought the Clown Copter along."

Har-Harlequin looked at him cock-eyed. "Why didn't you?"

"I, uh, I forgot it."

"WHAT?!"

SHOOM. In an instant, everything came to a halt for the evil clowns. They each became still and silent as something landed right before them, or rather right in front of Katunk. It was a menacing-looking Yoshi with gold skin and accessories of all kinds.

"Is it that thing?" Groovum asked his companion, pointing to the newcomer. Before he could answer, though, the strange Yoshi reared back one of his lustrous clawed feet and swung towards the defenseless Katunk's face. Instinctively, the Red Nose clenched his eyes shut, preparing for the inevitable. WHAM!! The kick hit something, yet the spiky clown remained unharmed. He popped one eye open and saw that the attack had been blocked by one of Rudy's gigantic floating fists.

"Do you have business with us, stranger?" the head clown asked, a cold tone glossing over his voice.

"I just need one or two things," the Kroshi sneered. "After that, I'll be on my way..." He ripped his foot out of the giant clown's fist, reared back, and fired another kick. WHAM!! Rudy blocked that one as well.

"Does it involve Katunk?" Rudy inquired, a great scowl upon his face.

"It involves the spiky guy," the Kroshi replied.

"I see..." Rudy thrust the dastardly Yoshi's foot off his fist, throwing him back. He jammed an index finger in his face. "GET HIM!!"

The evil clowns were upon the man almost instantaneously. Groove Guy and Groovum tried tackling him and Night Guy tried lunging at him with a knife, but the Yoshi's reflexes were surprisingly sharp. Aiming for Night Guy first, he slammed his left fist into his gut, winding him and sending the knife flying. The golden assailant caught the weapon with his other hand and made a clean sweeping movement with it. SHING!! The two 8-Bits of the group took it with their masks and flew backwards.

Just like that, three of them were down, but it didn't stop there. With no hesitation, the Kroshi fired the knife behind him. CHING! It bounced off of one of Jester's razor-sharp cards. This surprised the clown for a second, but now wasn't the time. He withdrew four more cards just as the Yoshi turned for him. He flung them at his enemy like ninja stars, but the crafty foe deftly flipped over them. Jester wasn't worried, though, for a barrel was coming at this guy from the side. CRASH!! Stopping his spinning by flinging his arms and legs out, the devious Yoshi was able to break apart the barrel with a kick. Now Jester and Taffy Kong were shocked. The Kroshi landed on his hands, spun his legs around, and slammed one foot in Jester's face. Only a few were left now.

Both Taffy Kong and Har-Harlequin glared at their formidable opponent. The Kroshi thought little of it. His two adversaries got their attacks going. In the next second, coming right at the golden Yoshi was a stampede of rolling barrels, and flying right above them were chakrams of fire hoops. When the Kroshi saw this, he scoffed and front-flipped onto the forthcoming barrels. He bounced off one and flipped straight through one of the hoops with impeccable timing. When he came down, he passed through another one that nearly cleaved him, and jumped off another barrel. Both Taffy Kong and Har-Harlequin's jaws dropped. A fatal mistake. WHAM!! The perilous Yoshi slammed one heel right into the forehead of the orangutan of the group, knocking him backwards. He didn't get back up. The Kroshi landed on the grass and turned towards the last one, the witch of the group. Har-Harlequin snarled and continued her assault.

This time, she was thrusting her palms out at the enemy. With very loud screeching noises, each one would launch a blazing mass of colorful sparks, not unlike fireworks. Each one made loud popping and exploding sounds when they missed their target and hit the ground. No matter what, the Kroshi could dodge it. He merely flipped forward, landed on his side, and rolled all the way up to the vicious Har-Harlequin. When she realized she had been firing at hardly anything, it was too late. BAMM!! The Kroshi rocketed himself off the ground with his hands and socked the woman square in the jaw with his foot. Cursing with her last breath, she fell to the ground limply as so many others did. Now there was only one left.

Rudy scowled fiercely once it was just him and this mysterious new enemy. "You fiend," the giant clown seethed. "How dare you do this to my friends?!"

"Friends are for the weak," the Kroshi retorted. "Now step aside. You're blocking my prey."

Rudy glared mercilessly into the Kroshi's eyes. He and his friends had only been walking innocently through these woods when this maniacal man suddenly showed up and began to attack. They tried their best, but not even that was enough. Now it was up to their fearless leader. Rudy assumed a fighting stance and focused solely on this dangerous villain. He decided if he couldn't strike this man down, then their struggle would have been in vain.

The Kroshi stared back at his humungous opponent. Judging by the stance he was in and the look in his eyes, he was going to put all of it into one attack. The golden Yoshi laughed and got into an equally threatening position of his own.

Katunk watched all this anxiously. It was quite the sight for these two incredibly strong people to be locking eyes with each other, fists clenched in the middle of this unique forest. Surrounding them was a set of unconscious bodies. The spiky creature could tell that, in the next second, one more was going to be added to their number. They had but an instant left...

_For my friends..._

_For power..._

ZING!! Instantaneously, the two fighters flew right past each other. Katunk barely even saw what had happened. Now they were in opposite locations. Their backs were turned towards each other. They stared piercingly as their bodies remained still as rocks. Then, finally, it happened: one of them grunted in pain and keeled over. Katunk was shocked; Rudy had collapsed onto his front with his pain-stricken face turned to one side. The Kroshi had won.

"Don't ever," the Kroshi panted, "disrupt my quest for power..."

Rudy cursed to himself. Even when he had all his determination backing him up, he was still no match for this monstrous person. Now he was striding over to the one evil clown that stood standing: Katunk.

The spiky being stood shivering and covered in a veil of his own cold sweat as this maniacal assailant strode up to him. Mercilessly, the Yoshi looked down upon him. The clown fearfully clenched his eyes shut and thought of his recently departed friend as this new enemy reared another leg back. The whole time, all Rudy could do was clench his teeth and prepare himself for the worst.

_Katunk,_ he thought, _forgive me..._

Unbeknownst to anyone, this entire scene had been watched carefully by a certain female Magikoopa. Once again, she watched as these evil clowns struggled to get through yet another dilemma. She shook her brown-haired head in pity, knowing full well what was going to happen.

"The Koopas' competition," she said quietly, "is losing its edge..."

BOOM...

* * *

Back on Yoshi's Island, the two of Yoshika and Jeila's father were in the progress of walking away from the Super-Happy Tree and towards the man's house. They were engaged in conversation. 

"So, how did today's session with the Super-Happy Tree go, Yoshika dear?" the father asked.

"Well, I told her all my problems, like I always do, but I'm still not getting anything," the girl replied.

"Give it time, dear. Soon, like Jeila, Xoshi, and I, you'll be able to hear her voice like music in the air!"

"Hmm," Yoshika responded. She looked worrisome at first, then speculative. "I wonder what he's doing right now?"

"Who, Xoshi?"

"Yeah."

"Who can say?" the priest commented. "The last anyone saw him, he and his friends were boarding that ship with that Yoshi."

"I know."

"They're probably at Isle Delfino right now, livin' it up with all the other Yoshies. In any case, one things for sure, he's in good hands."

"You think so?" Yoshika asked.

"I'm sure of it," the father exclaimed. "I'm telling you, there's no one in this world quite like a Yoshi..."

Yoshika didn't say anything. _I'm not sure about that one,_ she thought.

"...Something on your mind?" the holy man asked.

"No, not really," Yoshika stated. "I just wish I could hear the tree's voice."

"It'll happen, don't worry..."

As the two neared the house, Yoshika contemplated further to herself. _I trust my sister,_ she thought. _The people she went with said they wanted to purify the world..._

* * *

All was silent in the Clattagin Woods. The Kroshi had done the unspeakable. Lying before him was the motionless body of Katunk of the evil clowns. Blood seeped out of a dire wound in the creature's forehead, but the Kroshi wasn't done. He knelt down, grabbed the body's vibrant red shoes, and slipped them off, revealing his shiny feet. Strangely enough, once he did this, SHINK! The spikes vanished from Katunk's body, rendering it as nothing more than a smooth, silver ball with a face and a pair of feet. 

The Kroshi slipped the footwear onto his own feet. SHING!! The spikes had reappared. This time, they were on the Kroshi. Now his elbows, his shoulders, his knuckles, his tail... All of them had the same solid, deadly spikes that Katunk once had. They even tipped the ruby ones on the back of his neck, further complimenting his new intimidating appearance. The Kroshi looked at these new developments and tried them out. He jabbed and slashed at the air in front of him with his claws and his elbows. He finished the movements with a spin on his heel, sending his lethal tail swishing around. He smirked to himself, knowing full well what kind of damage he'd now be able to do against future enemies.

The Kroshi's work was done. He excitedly mumbled something to himself about going somewhere. Then, just as he had done earlier, he left the scene simply by rocketing off the ground using his overwhelmingly strong legs. He left the evil clowns behind, bounding further and further into the woods. This, he did, and a fallen Rudy shut his eyes tightly, gnashed his teeth, and pounded the ground with a sturdy fist...

"Poor souls," the Magikoopa above whispered. "They didn't even have the chance..."

A while later, the Magikoopa found herself far away from the scene of the crime. She was uncertain as to what she'd encounter next, but it definitely wasn't the two other female Magikoopas heading towards her. Mildly surprised by their appearance, she stopped in midair and waited patiently for them to get close enough. They could tell this wasn't going to go entirely well, but they flew on nonetheless.

"Well, well, well," the mysterious Magikoopa said once the three were together. "Kammelina and Kammeo. Haven't seen you two in a while."

"Likewise, Kammitha," Kammelina answered.

"So?" the third Magikoopa said. "How goes it with you? Still suckling at Veyran's teat?"

"A deserter like you would never understand," Kammelina retorted. "You should know Kammitha, it was quite arrogant of you to think you could survive on your own."

"No, it was rather enlightened of me. A couple of babies like you would never understand."

"B... Babies?!" Kammeo fumed. Kammelina held a hand in front of her face.

"Don't pay any attention to her, Kammeo," her elder sister advised. "She's just trying to get your goat."

"Right, right," Kammitha belittled. "So, what brings you here? Business with the Koopas? Business with the clowns?"

"Business with the Kroshi," Kammelina clarified.

"That gold thing that just bounded off?" Kammitha responded. The other two sisters looked shocked.

"G... Gold thing?!" Kammelina stammered. "Quick, sister, you must tell us! Where did it go?"

Kammitha smirked and tapped her upper lip with her wand. "Well, I could tell you, but, what's in it for me?"

Kammelina stared seriously at her sister's cocky face, but only for a few seconds. She turned to her younger sister for help. She looked at her with tight lips and raised eyebrows. Kammeo shrugged and lipped a few words. Kammelina silently said, "No." Kammeo tilted her head at her elder sibling and held her hands out very condescendingly. Kammelina grit her teeth. Then the two turned back towards the third sibling.

"We'll give you these," Kammelina said at last. Both she and Kammeo brandished a number of bottles. "They're Red Essences. When you drink them, you gain an unbelievable amount of power, but only momentarily. Surely they'll aid you on your quest."

Kammitha looked at these bottles and raised an eyebrow at her sisters. "Are you sure? That sounds pretty crazy to me."

"We know. We witnessed their capabilities ourselves and have been questioning it to this day. We were hoping we'd be able to keep them for ourselves, but we'll give them to you if you tell us where the Kroshi went."

Kammitha looked at these bottles her sisters were holding and rubbed her chin. Finally, she made her decision. "It's a deal." Kammelina and Kammeo were relieved. They happily handed the Red Essences over to the other Magikoopa. She stowed them away and got on with the much-needed information. "I heard him," she said. "He said he was going first to the Forest of Dheos, then to Angel Mountain. I don't know what he's got planned, but if you girls wanna chase after him, be my guest."

"The Forest of...?!" Kammelina uttered. She clenched her fists and made a noise through her teeth. "Come, Kammeo. It looks like things are starting to get a bit interesting around here..."

Kammeo nodded and began to head off in one direction on her broomstick. Kammelina was about to turn and follow her example, but she stopped herself. She faced Kammitha one more time and nodded. "Thank you." Then she was off.

Kammitha watched for a moment as her disagreeable sisters flew off without her. She laughed to herself and began to head off as well.

_I know how it is,_ she thought. _Some of us need gods... Others don't..._

* * *

In the middle of one particular neck of the Forest of Dheos, a dubious group of four was excitedly checking out the new weapons it had only recently been able to obtain. Each of the instruments of war almost seemed to have personalities of their own. The Boombateers could practically feel the power emanating from them and into their veins. This was indeed a day of triumph. 

"Heh heh. I've always wanted one of these," Ren boasted as he swung his staff forward repeatedly.

"I am a king once again!!" Goomba Prince crowed, holding the sword high above him, dramatically.

"I am an elf!!" Razeil gloated, dancing around with the bow'n'arrow he had received.

Razule giddily opened and closed his new parasol. "Ye-heh-hesss. With these, once we take on our enemies, they'll be plums rotting on the ground!!"

"Ye... Yeah," Goomba Prince replied.

"Speaking of which, those gobble-dee-gooks oughtta be there by now," Razule exclaimed. "Dad, you comin'?"

"Alas, Razule, my boy, my place is here in the forest. It was a carnival with you guys, and I hope you get your jelly beans, but I must stay here."

Razule suddenly looked very regretful. Goomba Prince looked at him concernedly. "Awww... So this is it, dad? The cell's mitosis?" Razule asked.

"Now, now, Razule, you can always visit! My mud puddle is your mud puddle!"

"Awww, dad..."

The two Raven-like creatures moved towards each other. Goomba Prince looked disgusted by what they did next, but Ren seemed unphased: first, Ren lifted up one foot and his father licked it. Then his son did the same with him. Goomba Prince rolled his eyes back and stuck his tongue out. Ren just shook his head.

In a moment's notice, Razeil was parting with the group. His son and his two companions were walking away from him and waving goodbye.

"See ya, Mr. Razeil! It was fun being with you!" Ren called out.

"Please! Don't go 'bugging' more people!!" Goomba Prince said. Razeil just laughed and shook his bow'n'arrow over his head in a victorious gesture. With that, the two parties were going their separate ways once again.

"My old man's quite the backscratcher, eh?" Razule said.

"He's got moxy, that's for sure," Ren shared.

"I, uh," Goomba Prince stammered. "Yeah..."

"Well, we can save the whales for later," Razule elicited. "Right now, we gotta fly!"

"What do you-" The Goomba couldn't finish it. Like a cannonball, his leader was running off, faster than anything. Ren had already begun chasing after him, equally fast, more or less. When the prince saw this, he grumbled and sped after them...

The Boombateers may have left the area, but 15 people were walking towards it. Some of them were talking about greedy people, and the others were talking about thieves.

"That little idiot would always run away," Swan griped.

"Those guys are gonna pay," Princess Cherry Blossom swore. Then, very suddenly, the two groups emerged from the trees, came out into the open, and their eyes fell on each other. "Ah," said the princess.

"Oh," said Swan.

"Hey, sorry to bother ya, but have you seen four annoying little guys somewhere around here?" King Boo asked.

"Elsewhere," Duke Swuke exclaimed, "but not here..."

"...Oh."

"Yeah, and have you seen this little guy in a tuxedo?" Swoosh asked. "Obsessed with spheres and stuff?"

"No such person," King Boo replied.

"Sheist." Swoosh kicked at the ground.

"Well," King Boo spoke up, "we'll give you a call once we see something."

"Our sentiments exactly," Swuke stated. The two groups nodded to one another and they split up, returning to their searches. For both, the day was going to be quite long. In the meantime, the two leaders were busy speculating to themselves.

The duke furled his brow as he pressed onward. _In this forest..._

King Boo fluttered his eyes upward as he floated along. _...There's no telling what you'll bump into..._

And the sky above the Forest of Dheos began to grow dim...


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**  
BAM!! A sock to the jaw, and one of the Klaptraps went flying. PUNT! Another went sprawling as it took a blow to the ribs. WHAM!! One more became a scaly pancake, having been flattened beneath an angry pair of feet. These little reptiles were being easily defeated left and right. The leader of the Kremlings, King K. Rool, watched all this furiously. In time, none were left.

A might strangely, the fight was set amidst a room seemingly overflowing with bananas of all shapes and sizes. The devious King K. Rool had business here, but something was in his way. The enemy, a dubious pair of apes, stepped forward cockily. "Rool, you're holding out on us," said the male, an ape donning a beard and a brown vest. "Everyone knows these Krappy Klaptraps of yours are only your creative way of starting the enemy off with something easy, only to hit him with something hard later! Come on!! Up the ante, already! I mean, it's not like we're getting any younger here..."

"That's enough, dear," quipped the female, an ape with frizzy hair and a green sweatshirt. "He's just doing things his way. Let him have his fun."

"Fun?! Peh. All I know is that if it were me, I'd have gotten this done a long time ago. Why, I remember the day..."

"Shut up, you worthless hairballs!!" King K. Rool yelled. "In case you didn't notice it, my second wave has already begun!!"

The apes snapped out of it. They looked around and took note of how a mob of Kritters were now upon them. The male ape scoffed once more. "Kritters?! You gotta be kidding me..." The primemate's wife patronized him a second time before the two leapt into the fray.

One Kritter attempted coming at the male ape with his fists flying, but his opponent merely saw this as wide open. He grabbed him from the sides, hoisted him up, and hurled him at another reptile flying foward. The two collided like bowling pins and were down for the count. One of them tried taking a swipe at the female, but she let him trip over her foot and fall flat on his face. Two others were going to punch her face in from two opposing sides, but she deftly ducked beneath them, causing the unintelligent fighters to assault each other's faces instead.

Now only four Kritters were left, but the apes could tell perfectly well they stood no chance. Once they saw these four adversaries beginning to advance on them, they nodded to one another and began their attack. The female leapt up into the air and flipped around. Her male counterpart caught her hands and began to swing her around. The tactic workerd like a charm. The Kritters weren't even given time to react as the woman's feet swung around, kicking them all in the faces.

After that, she was let down. There were no Kritters left. The apes stared their reptilian antagonist down, anticipating the next big event. King K. Rool was ticked. "You haven't won yet!!" he bellowed. "Krushas!! Get'em!!"

Indeed, the next wave was a crowd of huge, muscular Krushas coming at the mammalian fighters. They may have been even more outnumbered this time around, but they still weren't unprepared. The male ape tittered. "You really are a slow learner, aren't you?" he remarked.

The treacherous crocodile glared at them for a second. Then he saw them whip out a bunch of TNT barrels. The man's jaw dropped. "Where did THOSE come from?!" he uttered.

The apes paid him little mind. They just reared their arms back and let the explosives fly in every which direction. KA-BOOOOMM!!! Just like that, the Herculean Krushas had been sent flipping through the air and crashing to the ground, each of them a black mess of charred skin. Now only King K. Rool was left. What was he to do now? The male ape said it for him.

"You still got an-"

"-I still have an ace up my sleeve!!" King K. Rool interjected.

"I knew it."

The gigantic crocodile puffed in some air and let it out in a massive, exploding voice. "TOUGHIE KONG!! GET YOUR BIG, FAT, HAIRY BUTT DOWN HERE!!"

At first, nothing happened, but then things started to pick up. Suddenly being able to sense a fearsome presence, the two apes looked up. Then they saw it: way up above them in this strange place, something freakishly huge was plummetting towards them. They could see it for but a few seconds, then WHAM!! An incredibly massive creature all covered in brown fur had slammed into the ground before them. Upon closer inspection, this was actually an orangutan wearing a polkadot vest, an odd garment for the neck, a clown nose, and a pointy hat. He was, in fact, a giant clown. He suddenly raised his trembling fists in the air and set forth a bloodcurdling roar.

"WHERE'S MY COFFEE?!?" the gargantuan monkey yelled.

"Toughie!! Coffee later!! Bashing heads in now!!" King K. Rool snapped. His humungous minion seemed to get the picture.

"Oh, right." He raised his fists once more. "GGRRRRR!!! YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!!"

"WAIT!!" the female ape shouted. Instantly, this got the enormous orangutan to calm down and listen. "Did he say Toughie Kong? You wouldn't, by any chance, be Taffy Kong's little brother, now would you?"

The giant monkey scratched his head. "Uh, yeah, I would. What about it?"

"He told me about you. I hear you drink far too much coffee. Is this true?"

"Well, maybe, but..."

"My advice to you, young man: give up coffee. It's not good for you. It'll stunt your growth."

"Well, maybe, but..."

"Peh!! Kids. You never listen to adults," the ape's husband interrupted. "You're always going on about what's 'hip' and what's 'cool' these days. You know what my father would have said had I have given HIM the same lip your givin' us now? He'd have said-"

"-Would you morons quit wasting time and start killing each other already?!" King K. Rool yelled, cutting the conversation short. "Geez!!"

"Oh, right, boss," Toughie Kong replied. A third time, he raised his gigantic fists. "HERE IT COMES!!"

WHAM!!! The tremendous ape slammed both fists into the ground, instantly causing his two enemies some problems. The blow was so fierce, it immediately transformed the ground into a giant spider web of cracks, which in turn became a small mountain range of spiky rocks for the apes to dodge. Out of the corner of his eye, the massive orangatan could see his enemies hopping around, almost like fleas. Annoyedly, he turned around and sent a humungous fist flying towards the male ape. Craftily, the gorilla flipped forward and rolled down a slope of rocks to dodge it. Still annoyed, Toughie swung around with his fist flying sideways, hoping to flatten the female. Unfortunately, she, too, was too nimble to take the hit.

Frustrated by his opponents, the giant ape flew up into the air and rocketed his feet back into the ground. CRACKK!! This time, the earthquake sent both the smaller apes soaring into the sky, along with all the jagged rocks. In the next second, it was raining boulders and monkeys. Some of these heavy masses of earth were even able to konk the ill-fated King K. Rool on the head. He was greatly irritated.

"OWW!!" the gator yelled. "Toughie!! What in blazes do you think you're doing?! Kill them, not me!!"

"I'm trying, boss, I'm trying!!"

The large minion started unleashing a furious series of punches and chops, each one sending a random boulder shooting off in a random direction. The two normal-sized apes were already leaping from one jagged rock to the next in midair, and now this ordeal had come flying their way. It was getting quite tiresome.

"Coffee makes one irritable," said the female.

"Oh, he'll have plenty to gripe about once I'M through with him," the husband remarked. He leapt onto one of the many falling rocks and snatched another one in his mits that had been sent flying by the giant Toughie Kong. "Hey!! Rock-Head Jones!!"

Toughie Kong stopped blasting rocks through the air and turned towards the other ape. "What do you- HACK!!" The seismic orangutan's hands flew to his neck. One rock had been fired right down his throat!

"Bull's eye," said his male opponent.

"Why- Yuh-" Toughie Kong struggled. Then suddenly, he felt two extremely sharp pains wrenching him in both knees. Would these rock attacks never cease?

The male gave a thumbs-up to his spouse. "That's some nice shootin' there, Wrinkly!"

"Why, thank you, dear."

The monkeys nodded to each other. Then the male got back to work. Now atop another falling rock, he watched as his massive opponent fell face forward onto the ground, still with his hands around his neck. The man was completely vulnerable. The male ape cracked his knuckles. "Now for the grande finale," he stated. The man sprang into the air, flipped around, and stopped in midair. His arms were spread out and his feet were pointing downward. "CRANKY KONG CRUSHER!!!"

With that, the ape was spiraling madly towards the humungous ape on the ground. King K. Rool watched with a dropped jaw as his overgrown soldier lay there, barely struggling to get back up. All the while, the enemy ape was zooming faster and faster towards the back of Toughie Kong's head. The villains were helpless. Finally, BAAMMM!!! The monkey's feet had connected. They bore right into the orangutan's skull, slamming him with an intense agony. All he did in response was lie there, looking horrified. A lone boulder hacked its way out of his mouth, and the enormous ape collapsed.

The male ape leapt off the man's head and back onto the ground. He was soon met up with by his wife. "Maybe you went a bit too far, dear."

"Nonsense! This is just the start of things. Just keep running, you hear me?"

"Alright."

Thus, the apes fled for their lives. Far behind them, a bewildered King K. Rool watched helplessly as the next wave appeared: all the rocks that had been flying around in the storm previously were now coming down upon the tremendous Toughie Kong like an incomprehensibly merciless hailstorm. It all piled on top of the ape, one after another, eventually turning him into a mountain of jagged boulders and dust. The tyrannical gator was infuriated. Blood vessels in his left eye full to bursting, he turned and yelled towards his adversaries at the top of his lungs.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, YOU WORTHLESS APES!!!"

"You rang?" the male ape said.

"GAAHHHH!!!" King K. Rool jumped. The two apes suddenly appearing behind him was a bit much. Quickly, he regained his composure and pointed to them accusingly. "Don't think this is over, you banana-brained baboons!! I'm the great King K. Rool! NO ONE can withstand my power! NO ONE!!!"

WHAM! Instantly, the reptile had become winded. A hairy fist had connected with his gut. The male ape pulled his hand back. "You were saying, Mr. Power-Pants?"

"C-Curse you," King K. Rool wheezed, taking a few steps back while rubbing his stomach and contriving to get his breath back. After that, he shook his head quickly and stood erect again. He glared at the apes and pointed a threatening claw at them. "Alright, you harrowing half-wits, you win this round. But I'll be back! This time, with more Klaptraps, Kritters, and Krushas than you could shake a stick at!! Then, my dear friends, THEN your banana horde will be mine!!"

"Sounds interesting," the male ape commented.

King K. Rool ignored him. He back-flipped onto the massive pile of rocks behind him and stuck a claw in them. He dug around for a second, then said, "Toughie, I'm gonna be borrowing this." SHWUP! He pulled out a barrel with a symbol of a cloud painted on the front and held it dramatically on the palm of his hand. "'Til we meet again, you sniveling simians!!"

"Yeah, put on a shirt next time," the husband said.

"Goodbye, King K. Rool! Make sure you do your homework!" said the wife.

"Ugh," Toughie Kong muttered beneath the rocks. "Taffy was right. I'm just gonna stick to kids' birthday parties from now on."

"FAREWELL!!" the Kremling king yelled, and he slammed the barrel onto the rocks. The wooden object exploded and enveloped everything within a spreading, hissing mist. In due time, nothing in the room was visible, save for a humungous white cloud. After that, it began to dissipate, then all was revealed. Now all the Kremlings were gone, including King K. Rool and the hairy Toughie Kong. All that was left was the huge pile of rocks and the mountains of bananas surrounding them. A hard-earned victory for Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong.

"Yeah!!" the male ape yelled, as he began to jab triumphantly at the air. "Just like old times, eh, Wrinkles? A punch to the left, a kick to the right, and they all run like little ba- OUCH!!" The ape suddenly stopped dancing. That last jab did a number on his wrist. He started flapping it around a bit, as if to cool it down from being burned. "Ah, fiddlesticks, I'm gettin' too old for this."

The man's wife smiled at him and took his limp arm in hers. The two began to walk their way out of the banana-filled cave. "Well, come on, dear. Let's go back to the house and rest. It's been a long day..."

"I'll say..."

* * *

The sky had become a healthy purple and all was well in the jungle. It was a gauntlet, but the vibrant land of Donkey Kong Island could once again enjoy a peaceful night. Deep inside one of its forests, a large, sturdy treehouse stood. The lights were on, smoke was coming out of the chimney, and two heroic apes were enjoying themselves inside.

Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong sat together at the dinner table. Both had heaping platefuls of bananas, and they were digging into them with forks and knives. After stuffing one morsel into her mouth and continuing to carve up her meal, Wrinkly Kong brought something up. "Cranky, dear," she said. "Whatever did happen to that Taffy Kong of ours?"

"He ran off to join the circus. What do you think?"

"Yes, dear, but the question is, why?"

"Eh, good question." Cranky Kong stabbed a piece of banana with his knife and slid it into his mouth. "Last I checked, he had to go 'purify the world,' or some such."

"Hmm..." The female ape pulled another banana towards her with her silver utensils and began to split it into numerous segments. "You know, I seem to remember one Tondariya having a say in the matter."

"That faerie tale witch?" Cranky Kong scoffed. "You know the story, Wrinkles: she went after the Mushroom Kingdom and Ninjaka, and everyone's been on their toes ever since. If you ask me, whatever happens over there in those countries is THEIR business. If it was Taffy Kong's decision to get caught up in it, then that's that."

Wrinkly Kong didn't eat what she had on her plate. She merely pawed at it with her fork. "Yes, but it can be so troubling at times..."

"Look, sweetheart," Cranky Kong said, putting his silverware down and looking into his wife's eyes. "It's a big world out there. A big world full of people, politics, and fires. It doesn't have anything to do with us. You and me, we're just a couple of hairy apes. The only thing we care about is bananas and keeping that blasted King K. Rool in line. Our life doesn't need to be more complicated than that."

Wrinkly Kong returned the stare into her husband's eyes for a few seconds. Then she looked down at her plate and patted some of her banana with a fork. "Well," she said, "you may have a point..."

"Hey, listen." Cranky Kong stretched both his hands out. He clasped them around those of his wife's. They looked into each other's eyes once more. "It's easy. We let them handle their affairs, and they let us handle ours." Cranky Kong then arched his eyebrows and pointed a thumb towards his grinning face. "After all," he said, "we're the guardians of Donkey Kong Island..."

Wrinkly Kong smiled at him. "Indeed, we are," she said. Cranky Kong nodded to her. He pulled his remaining hand away and the two resumed eating...

CCRASSH!! The two apes jerked their heads towards the window, or rather, what had flown through it. Now, in their house, a Magikoopa clad in blue was floating to the ground with a broomstick in one hand. He brushed some of the broken glass off his form, mumbling something about never getting tired of that. He looked at the shocked apes and adjusted his glasses.

"Good evening to you," Kamek said. "Cranky Kong and Wrinkly Kong, I presume?"

Suddenly, Kamek made a gagging noise. Cranky Kong was on his feet, holding this treacherous Magikoopa by the neck. "And just what do you think you're doing here, punk?" he threatened.

Even while having trouble breathing, the sorceror cracked a toothy grin. "Just so you know, if you bite off more than you can chew, it's not my responsibility."

The ape started grappling onto the blue-garbed wizard with both fists. "What did you say, you little runt?!"

BAM!! The ape suddenly felt dazed. His eyes rolled back into his head, his grip on Kamek loosened, and he fell to the ground. Before he hit, though, both his hands and feet were caught by a pair of Toadies. Now the ape was floating in the air, courtesy of these chuckling creatures. Kamek gave a chuckle alongside them. "No task is too big or too small for my Toadies," he commented.

Wrinkly Kong stood back in horror. It had been too long since she had last seen her husband at the hands of an overwhelming enemy. "H-How dare you?!" she uttered.

Kamek waved a finger at her and tittered. "For your information, Miss Kong, it is generally not accepted for captives to be with their mouths running."

"YOU-" Bam!! Another Toadie had done a powerful head butt to knock the victim out. Like her husband, she sagged into unconsciousness, and was caught by two more Toadies. Now both apes were floating in the air, all thanks to Kamek and his faithful minions. He smiled as he took his glasses off and wiped them with his robes. He placed them back on his face cockily.

"It's a pity, really," he said. "But I really dislike dealing with noisy people..."

The Magikoopa pulled out his broomstick once more. He stuck it between his legs and kicked himself off the ground. Soon, he was floating in the air again. "Well, come on, boys," he said to his Toadies. "We return to the mansion. It's been a long day..."

The Toadies nodded to their master. Then they took off with him into the night sky. Behind them was an empty house. The lights were still on and smoke still plumed from the chimney. This time, however, there was a broken window and no one was inside. The guardians of Donkey Kong Island had been kidnapped...

* * *

"YYAAAAYYY!!"

The people in the crowd put their arms down. The man in front of them, a small person with brown curly hair, a curly moustache, and a business suit, nodded to all of them. "Got that, everyone?" he said. "On my signal, you all go and bash as many Prize Blocks as you want, but only ONE of them contains the REAL prize!"

Boshi looked around. Now, of all places, he was in the Mario Zone of Mario Land. Apparently, it was an amusement park of sorts run by a man in a business suit with an odd sense of humor. As of the moment, he and his subjects were in a vast room of the place seemingly made entirely out of giant rotating cogs and wheels. The floors, the walls, the ceiling... To others, this may have seemed like fun, but Boshi found it just plain strange.

"Everyone ready?" said the man in the suit.

"YEAHHH!!"

Boshi looked at the excited patrons. What he found even stranger was that they all, more or less, actually resembled the one in the suit. To Boshi, it was far too much curly brown hair. "All the people in this stupid country look alike," the blue Yoshi grumbled. The man up front spoke once more.

"Alright then," he said. He raised one arm and all the people got into positions as though they were about to start running in the race. Boshi became confused. "On your mark... Get set... GO!!"

ZOOM!! The Marios took off like a herd of bulls. Boshi immediately found himself coughing in the dust clouds. He was agitated. The next thing he knew, the head of the Mario Zone was right next to him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Whatsa mattah, boy?" he said. "If you don't go now, all the Prize Blocks'll be gone..."

Boshi just stared at him. "Yeah, uh, that's great. You think you could say that in Yoshish?"

The man pointed behind him with his thumb. "Prize... Blocks..."

Boshi looked. He saw a bunch of people running around in a craze, jumping up repeatedly and slamming their fists into the undersides of numerous metallic cubes floating in the air, each of them with question marks on their fronts. At first, Boshi could see nothing special in this, but then he noticed how the people kept grabbing the things flying out of the tops of the cubes, like coins and Fire Flowers.

Boshi cocked an eyebrow. The man in the suit merely slapped him on the back. "Just get to it, okay?" he said.

Boshi hesitated. Then he just slowly nodded.

"Attaboy," the man said, as Boshi began to walk amidst the chaos.

Very quickly, the Yo'ster could feel himself beginning to regret this. He had no idea what this man said or what was going on, and now things were only getting even more nonsensical. He was completely surrounded by these deranged people, running and jumping around like mad. He didn't see the point in it all. Then he saw one person smash open a Prize Block and retrieve a 1-Up Heart. When the Yoshi saw this he scratched his chin. Then he shrugged his shoulders and ran forward.

The lizard man kept his eye on it: a lone Prize Block no one had stricken yet. He kept sprinting towards it until the key moment. Then he sprang into the air with one fist up. CHING!! The fist connected. Ten coins flew out. The blue reptile landed on the ground and commenced gathering up his spoils. It was when he picked up the sixth one when he noticed a whimpering sound coming from in front of him.

The Yoshi looked up. Standing there was one of the Marios. He looked very upset. "You... You insensitive man!!" he elicited. "That Prize Block was mine! Then you had to go and... and..."

Boshi tried listening further, but all this man was doing was making weird, twisting movements with his eyes, his fists, and his mouth. Even steam was coming out of his ears. Keeping a strange gaze fixed on him, Boshi gathered the rest of his coins and began to back away. Then BUMP! His backside hit something large and squishy. He turned around and saw a very rotund Mario holding a Prize Block in his flabby arms. There were teeth marks all over it.

"Hey, pal," the fat man said, "you oughtta watch where you're goin'! People are tryin' to eat here!!"

Boshi looked at him cock-eyed. Then he heard some jabbering beside him and he turned to look. Another Mario was standing there, chattering away in his face. "You gonna take that, man? You gonna take that? Huh? Are you just gonna take that?!"

"IIIII WWOOOONN!!!"

"HOLY CRAP!!" Boshi leapt back. He drew the line at a man suddenly screaming in his face. This one in particular was holding a huge, bulging bag above his head. It had a large M written on the front.

"I WON, I WON, I WON, I WON!!"

"YYAAAAYY!!" Now the other Marios were getting up and dancing, throwing their arms up in the air and whatnot. One of them accidentally slapped a very befuddled Boshi upside the face.

"Sheez," the Yoshi grumbled, rubbing his cheek. "Forget this place; I'm out of here!!"

With that, he turned and fled. Had he have actually been thinking, though, he would have noticed where this had gotten him: right off of the ledge.

"YYAAAUUUGGHH- Oof!!" The Yo'ster was safe, although his behind was aching more than anything. The blue dinosaur got up and muttered more curses under his breath. "Yeah, yeah," he said to himself. "Gimme more reasons to hate this place, why don't ya..."

ZING! "Whoa!!" Boshi ducked. With his hands clasped atop his head, he looked up. Above him, a strange saw blade was constantly whirling around a pole running horizontally, connecting two walls in this enormous abode. The Yo'ster had only a second to marvel at it when he suddenly had to jump to the side and back again. Looking around again, he noticed two more dangers: sandwiching him in the middle were two large circular saw blades going back and forth through the ground.

He was very confused now, but then he looked forward. This neck of the place may have been polluted with whirling blades aplenty, but it seemed, in actuality, it was a road to another Prize Block. A few more buzz saws may have been decorating the path here and there, but Boshi couldn't resist.

He twisted his neck this way and that, getting the kinks out. "Well," he said, rubbing his hands together, "I'll say this: SOMETHING'S gonna go my way today..." The Yoshi gathered his courage and ran forward, taking all the dangers in his way head-on...

* * *

Stars were shining up above and waves were flowing down below. Cool air rushed past the faces of Xoshi and friends as they flew onward through this peaceful night. All five of them were still on the back of their new ally, the Steenix. Here, Davey was steering the giant bird while the others were relaxing. Xoshi and Leif spent this sitting back, whereas Chogun was busy chatting away to White Rose.

"In short, it was simply the most revolting meal I ever had in my life," he said.

"I see," the knight replied.

Chogun stared at him, holding his chin. "You know, you seem to be a pretty quiet individual," he said. "Heck, you even have your entire body covered up. Your face, too. Why is this? You got something to hide?"

"It's the custom of our people to keep our bodies covered up at all times," White Rose responded.

"I see," Chogun stated. "I wonder, is it also a custom to remain silent at all times?"

White Rose's left eye twitched. It was here Leif interjected. "Chogun, sir, it is best you leave it alone," he advised. "White Rose has always been a silent person. We should just leave it at that."

"Hrm. My apologies," Chogun said. "I just don't want us to remain a ship of strangers. Have any interesting dreams lately? Have a favorite season? Do you have a family? Whatever it is, I'd be glad to hear it. That's all."

"I seldom remember any of my dreams, I'm partial to autumn, and I have a vast array of family members," White Rose explained.

Chogun stared wide-eyed at the swordsman. "Really?" he queried. "That large?"

"Quite."

Silence between the two men. Chogun decided he could pry later. "You know," he added, "Davey and I... We're just about the only family we have."

"It's true," Davey commented.

"Yeah... Well, unless you'd include the man who saved my life. Davey might have told you about him. I've looked up to him ever since."

"Sounds like my master," Leif added. "Errip the Red. He was like a father to me."

"Ah."

"What about you, Xoshi?" Davey asked. "You got a family?"

"Well, yes and no," Xoshi replied. "Although we're not really related, all of the Yoshies on our island care for each other like a family. We tend to be that way."

"I know what you mean," Chogun responded. He and Davey then commenced sharing with the others a tale of a time they ventured into a hazardous mine together and how hard they fought for each other. Xoshi watched them all in satisfaction. He started talking to Beel again.

_So we finally got something out of White Rose,_ he thought.

_He's a mysterious one, alright._

_So what about you?_

_Hm?_

_Don't you have a family?_

_Well... Not exactly. You see, Star Warriors are actually not born; they're made. We spring forth from a fountain in Star Haven, a combination of the wishes of the Star Spirits and a special material called Star Rock._

_...Star Rock?_

_Yes. As you know, there are many stones in this world, but some of them have magical properties to them. They can be used for many things, such as power sources and magic wands. The Star Spirits use them to create us, the Star Warriors._

_They do this,_ Beel continued, _because, some things, not even the Star Spirits themselves can handle. They'd like to walk amongst the normal people of Tronnajus and interact with them, but they have many policies when it comes to exactly how they can communicate with the commonfolk. For this, the Star Warriors exist..._

_We are created, we are given orders, we carry them out, we come back. That is the life of a Star Warrior._

_Hmm,_ Xoshi thought. _Are you really alright with this? It doesn't make you feel... mindless?_

_If we didn't do what we were intended for,_ Beel answered, _we would be useless._

_Hmm..._ Xoshi looked ahead. Down below, Silicon was starting to draw close. _All that,_ the Yoshi thought, _and you don't have a family?_

_Well... I must admit, we Star Warriors are not created perfect. Some are more soft-hearted than others, and some are more arrogant than others. One of them I knew quite well was a mite naive. He often came to me for help and advice on his missions. He had a tendency to carry a serious air about him, even though, deep down, he wasn't too sure of himself. He also had a taste for things with "style", and so, often, whenever he'd seek a doll to possess, he'd go for the ones with the garish capes._

_It was really amusing to watch him. There've been times when I truly worried about him, but I feel he has greatly matured over the years. He doesn't even hesitate to shove a pistol into an enemy's face. Nowadays, I can't help but look at him and feel that I played a part in his upbringing. You could say he's like a son..._

_Hmm..._ Xoshi saw Davey signaling to the Steenix. The giant bird nodded and began to descend. _Did he have a name?_

_He did, but it's hard to pronounce._

_Oh, I don't care about that,_ Xoshi exclaimed. _These past few days, I've had to say a LOT of things that were hard to pronounce. Come on, just tell me his name. And tell me yours, while you're at it._

Silicon was seconds away now. The others were preparing to land. _You'd like to know my name?..._

_Yes._

_Well, alright,_ Beel said. _My real name is..._

* * *

Putting his mental preparation into effect, Boshi ran forward and leapt over the first obstacle: a pit of spikes. He landed on a platform and sprang over a circular sawblade moving up and down on a line. After that, he landed again, jumped, and rolled underneath another blade just like it. Now he was on another platform with nothing more in front of it than a ton more spikes. However, on the other side of it was the next platform. There was no way he was going to leap across, but, fortunately, the two places were connected by a tightrope, the ends of it coming out of the ladders on either side of the spike pit. It had one of the rectangular sawblades whirling around it, but, at this point, Boshi feared nothing.

He nodded to himself, climbed up the ladder, and hopped onto the wire, remaining ever careful to avoid slipping. Then he looked up and caught sight of the blade coming at him. Thinking fast, he began to bob the string up and down with the force from his legs. The blade was inches away from the Yoshi when he sprang up and over the passing danger. He landed back onto the wire, breathed a sigh of relief, and continued walking.

At last, Boshi was on the other side. After that, he merely had to jump to another platform, dodge two of the larger sawblades, and finally, he was there. The Yoshi smirked to himself as he looked up at the Prize Block.

"Alright, Mr. Prize Block," he said, "let's see what you got..."

BAM!! The Yo'ster socked his fist right into its underside. The cube changed color and a huge bag flew out of it, similar to the one the winner of the contest received. Scratching his head, Boshi walked up to it once it fell to the ground. He placed his hands on it and spun it around. This time, instead of an M on it, there was "Psyche-Yo". Boshi looked at this inquisitively.

He unfastened the string around the bag's mouth and reached inside. His fingers grabbed a hold of something small, circular, and metallic. What he pulled out was indeed a yoyo; a shiny, metal one with the symbol of one of the small sawblades on the front. "What the?" Boshi uttered. Not knowing what else to do, he stuck his finger through the yoyo's ring, gripped the toy, and sent it for a spin.

It whizzed to the ground as the Yoshi anticipated, but then it did something completely different. SHING! It sprouted some whirling blades. This shocked Boshi, but fortunately, when he snapped the object back into his hand, the blades had disappeared. He looked at the device he had acquired, and tried something else. He spun it to the ground again, this time being sure to make it roll across the surface like a wheel. BZZZDDTT!! The blades made a big, dusty gash on the floor.

Boshi snapped it back into his hand and raised his eyebrows at the yoyo. Then he sported a mischievous grin. He reared his hand back and threw the yoyo from it. He sent the blade buzzing through the air like a chakram. He shot it up like a rocket. He even started shooting it off in every which direction, turning the blue Yoshi into a mass of silver streaks flying through the air.

Fwup! The Yo'ster caught it again. He looked at it and nodded. "Well," he said as he began to walk away, throwing the yoyo up and catching it repeatedly, "looks like something DID go my way today..."

* * *

The flight was over. Xoshi and friends landed on their favorite hill in Silicon, waved goodbye to the Steenix, and took a good look at the place they were staying for the night. To Chogun, this was most unfamiliar. He looked at all the little houses and brick walkways. Davey could tell he was taking it all in.

"Interesting place, eh?" he asked.

"Deathly silent place," Chogun remarked.

When Xoshi heard this, he squinted his eyes out at the village, rubbing his chin. White Rose and Leif seemed to be equally perplexed. "He's right," the Marinotropolan stated. "Something's not quite right..."

"Well," Davey said, stretching his limbs, "you guys can go check it out if you want. I'm going to go pay Ms. Era a visit."

"Fine by us," Chogun replied, watching as his friend descended the hill and away from the group. Now it was just the four of them.

"Well, Xoshi?" Leif asked. "What shall we do now?"

"What else?" the Yoshi replied, beginning to walk forward. "We're going to the inn." The others nodded and began to follow him...

While the others were in the act of making their ways towards their favorite inn, inside it, as per usual, their friend, Ion, was behind the counter, scrubbing out glasses. However, he was very slow at doing this, and he even had his head hung. A strange sight, to say the least. It was almost as though something large and heavy was resting on the boy's shoulders.

His magenta eyes shifted downward, seeming to scan the counter a bit. He did this for a few seconds, then paused. He stopped cleaning and merely stood there, gazing at nothing in particular. Then the young Pixie heaved a sigh and continued scrubbing.

Then the double doors swung open. The boy's head perked up. He saw a clawed foot enter the vicinity and his eyes lit on fire. "Oh no," he growled. "Not this time..."

Xoshi and friends had walked in. Leif was the first to greet their favorite bartender. "Ion, my lad!" he said. "We have ret-"

-WHAM!! The male Pixie had suddenly leapt out from behind the counter and pinned Chogun to the ground. "What in blazes?!" the bug man yelled. Ion just clasped his hands together, then spread them apart, connecting his fingers with a set of some strong metal cords.

"Say your prayers, Shogun!!" Ion threatened. Chogun's eyes bugged out. Ion tried plunging towards him again, but his arms were snagged. "What the?!" he blurted. Xoshi and White Rose had grabbed him in the nick of time.

"Ion! It's okay! It's the original this time!!" Xoshi explained hastily.

"Heh?" Ion grunted.

"Don't attack him. It's not an enemy," White Rose added.

Finally, Ion got the picture. "Oh, I see. Heh heh," he laughed nervously. He got rid of the strings, then got off of Chogun, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that."

"No worries," Chogun replied as he stood back up. Then he sighed. "Another reason why I have to return to normal as soon as possible."

"What?" Ion asked. Xoshi watched as the others began to explain to this young man the bug's current situation. The Yoshi smirked at it for a bit, but he couldn't get something off his mind.

"Wondering where Pixel is?"

Xoshi's head jerked to the left. Eon had walked into the room. She was looking quite somber. Xoshi just said, "Yeah. Where is she?"

"She's in her room," the woman answered. "She's quite upset."

Xoshi could feel his heart sinking like sand. "Why?"

Eon shook her head. "She heard the news. She's been distraught over it ever since."

Xoshi was confused. "What news?"

The woman stepped forward and petted the Yoshi's left arm softly. "I think you should just go talk to her."

Xoshi stared blankly for a second. His throat was dry. Finally, he said, "Alright..."

* * *

It was one year ago. All was well in the household of Pixel and her family. The three of her, her mother, and Pixidus were gathered around one of the tables of the cafeteria late one night, enjoying some tea. Pixidus was sharing with them another story of her travels.

"Really?" the young Pixel asked, interestedly. "Are you sure he wasn't just hitting on you?"

"If he was, it would have been one of the worst come-on's I've ever heard," Pixidus explained. "He just said, 'Are you interested in becoming the new Swoompire of Envy?'"

"What'd you say?"

"I just said, 'I don't know what that is, and I don't intend on finding out,' and I walked off. I mean, I was visiting the Forest of Dheos; I had better ways of wasting my time there than with THAT creepy old man." The girls all laughed at this comment. Pixidus shook her head and bobbed her teabag up and down some more. "I guess he just had to go and find a different woman."

"Why a woman?" Pixel asked.

"Why not?"

The mother, Eon, looked up. Two male Pixies dressed in black robes had walked through the door. They just stood there. When the other two girls took note of this, the elder woman just said, "Continue talking. I'll be right back..."

She got up and sauntered up to the two visitors. Pixel watched as the three talked amongst themselves for a bit, and then stepped outside. Pixidus was able to bring her back to the discussion. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Yeah..."

"But seriously, Pixel," the older Pixie said, bringing the tea to her lips. "Women aren't to be underestimated. After all, they say the most dangerous person whoever lived was a woman."

Pixel looked her in the eye. "Tondariya?"

Pixidus nodded. "But you know what? They say only two people during Trondaga could compete with her, both of them her archrivals: Calvress and Sparva."

"Girls..."

"Yeah." Pixidus sipped the tea. "But in the end, only one of them won out: Calvress." The girl smirked. "She's been an inspiration to us all ever since." Pixel took a small sip of her own tea. Pixidus elaborated. "They say her legacy lives on in the form of the Bean Star, and right now, my father is seeking out that power. He always was a bit chivalrous." At this point, the doors were opening again. Eon slowly walked back in. "Maybe he'll be able to put an end to this war yet..."

Both girls noticed how Eon wasn't moving. It was making the room eerily silent. "Mom?" Pixel said. Slowly, the mother glided up to her nervous daughter and the worried Pixidus. Anxiety was eating at them both.

"Pixidus," the female Pixie started quietly. "It's about your father..."

* * *

In the present, the disheartened Pixel was lying on her bed, clutching at her pillow. Her face was pink and coated in tears. _Now it's happening all over again,_ she thought wistfully. _What does this mean? Is there no hope?..._

There was a knocking at her door. "Come in," she said weakly. The knob turned and in walked Xoshi. He was a very nervous young man.

"Hey," he said lamely.

"Hi..." The girl struggled to sit up. She wiped her face off a bit. She stared at the innocent Yo'ster with pink eyes. Xoshi's returning gaze wasn't much different. The girl's eyes shifted as she sarted fidgeting with her fingers. Taking a deep breath, the brown dinosaur calmly walked up to her and took a seat beside her on the bed.

"You, uh," he began, "want to talk?"

Pixel didn't say anything. She just continued fidgeting. Xoshi became even more uncomfortable.

"Pixel?..."

"Xoshi," the girl quietly said. She gently placed her hands on her lap and rubbed them softly. "What is life?..."

Xoshi blinked. He stared without focus for a few seconds before answering. "Life is... everything that happens to you between the day you're born and the day you die..."

"It's not over after you die, is it?" the woman asked in a shaky voice.

Xoshi paused. "No, I don't think so."

"So," the girl sniffed, "even if... one life is taken, it's not the end of the world, is it? I can move on, right?"

Xoshi said nothing. His eyes uneasily moved left and right. "Um..."

The Yoshi heard a wavering breath heaving from the girl. Then he heard her sobbing. Disturbed, he looked over and saw her burying her face into her hands, her entire form shaking uncontrollably. Not knowing what else to do, the Yo'ster slowly placed his right hand on the girl's right shoulder, and his left on her left arm. "Xoshi, she's gone. That wonderful, magical woman that was like a sister to me is gone. And she was Tronnajus's last hope! What are we going to do now?"

_You've still got me,_ the Yoshi thought.

"Is this how things are supposed to be? No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, something always has to come along and knock you down. Is this someone's idea of a cruel joke? Is everything we say and do all set-up just for someone to see the looks on our faces when we find out how stupid we've been acting this whole time? Is suffering all there is??"

_No one wants to see you suffer..._

The girl wiped her eyes and turned towards Xoshi. She rested the side of her head on his chest. Xoshi was surprised. He wasn't sure if he ever felt more awkward. Nonetheless, he continued to hold her. "Is it hopeless?" the girl whispered. "Is this it?..."

Xoshi massaged her back with his left hand, but this didn't get a response from the girl. Looking around uneasily, Xoshi wracked his brains for what to do next. "Um," he started. "You know..." He could only hear the quiet in the room and the steady breathing of the upset Pixel. "I'm not sure what this world is about myself. I mean... I look at it, and what I see is... People tricking people into thinking they've won something they haven't. Gangs attacking you for no reason. Kidnappings and murders..."

Pixel sniffed. Xoshi continued rubbing her back. "It's unfair," he said. "It's wrong. It makes you... just wanna punch someone in the face." Xoshi heard a small noise something like a laugh. "But you know what else?" He heard soft breathing. "I've also seen people hugging each other, having drinks together. I've seen them talking to each other and eating fruit together." The Yoshi could feel the girl rubbing her face into his chest. He smirked a bit. "I've even seen them go to bed at night, wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, then pack their bags, and get back on the road, even after a LONG day. And... They always come back..."

The room became silent. Xoshi could feel Pixel's soft body and her gentle breathing. "Xoshi," she said, "thank you..." The Yoshi's eyes shot wide open. He felt soft arms wrap around his torso. They jerked him back and the two flopped down onto the bed. The mattress was still springing as Xoshi wondered what was going on. His heart was beating fast. He started to sweat as he felt this supple woman pressing closer to him.

_Wa... Wait a minute,_ Xoshi thought. _Isn't this wrong? Won't I be breaking Jeila's heart? Wouldn't her father be disappointed in me? Wouldn't the Super-Happy Tr-_

_Xoshi,_ Beel said quietly.

_Uh..._

_Just shut up..._

Xoshi stared blankly. Then his eyes floated upward and he smirked. He wrapped his arms around Pixel and closed his eyes.

"Don't worry... I'll never leave you..."

* * *

Another night had fallen. Cutlass was sound asleep. In his dreams, he was again visiting that strange world from his childhood. This time, he was at his desk. In front of him, his tutor, Prof. Gladius, was writing down all kinds of things on the chalkboard, but the boy was hardly paying the least bit of attention. His head was on his hand and his eyes were out the window.

_Three evil guys,_ he thought. _They're immortal and they're trying to enslave the galaxy. What could they possibly get out of this?..._

Whap! "AH!!" Cutlass clutched at his head. His tutor had just thrown a chalkboard eraser at his head.

"Young Master Cutlass, pay attention!! Should your father find out about your slacking... Oh, I shudder to think!"

Cutlass raised an eyebrow at his instructor.

"Now," the man said, waving a pointer in his direction, "who created the Milky Way galaxy millions of years ago?"

Cutlass blinked at him. "The Starls?"

The teacher smiled and returned to writing away on the board. "Very good! But it was also this mysterious group of people that created the single 25 planets known to man able to sustain life. With the exception of Tronnajus, they made two for each element: light, shadow, fire, ice, water, lightning, star, time, earth, wind, plant, and energy...

"Tronnajus, they made special, not just in the sense it has no dominant elemental connection, but also because it has no partner. The others, you see, came in pairs. This is because the way the Starls set them up is akin to that of a barred spiral, not unlike our galaxy. For each planet here, there is one very similar to it directly across from it in its polar opposite location. Notice how the further you go along these two strings of planets, the further you reach the one at the direct center, Tronnajus...

"The reason why there must be two planets paralleling each other at all times is because of the cosmic balance they serve to maintain. You see, all things in this world--be they living or non-living, animal or plant, man or beast--they all give off a certain aura. These auras can be seen by those with a particularly keen sense of perception, not unlike our good friend, Mr. Domino.

"For ages, wizards and shamans alike have used them, not just to measure magical power, but also well-being. You see, they change color depending on the state of the world around them; blue for good things and red for bad things. When looked at as a whole, they form the color of the planet. Often times, the planet is a solid purple, indicating a balance between good and evil.

"The reason why this is a cause for concern is because one cannot let the world become too peaceful... let alone too chaotic. You see, it may sound ideal for the world's aura to become blue, but what happens when its counterpart is a different color? That's right; the balance becomes thrown off. As it is told, it is here where the true power of the planet shines forth. This is why frequently it is when the world is at its best when something unspeakable happens, such as a great natural disaster, or a dread criminal spreading his name. Contrarywise, it is also why when the times are at their worst when something miraculous suddenly happens, such as a great hero stepping forth. However, more often than not, the true nature of these strange events is actually rather debatable. Even now, the age-old argument between all this pointing to either divine intervention or simple human intervention is raging strongly.

"But what about our distant relative, the unique Tronnajus? It, too, follows this system of balance, but in its own way. They say one entire half of it is the equivalent of one planet, as is the other. A sideways system, I know, but the laws still apply.

"Now... What do you suppose would happen if, by some astonishing series of events, both sides of a pair of planets became the same color? Well, that depends on what color we're talking about. If it's purple, nothing. However, if it's red, that's when things start to get interesting. When both planets become red, what happens is a lock somewhere in the universe becomes unhinged. When both are blue, the lock is put back into place. Once all 13 are undone, though, a portal opens. Legend has it, this portal leads to the long-lost golden palace of the Starls. What lies in wait there? Who knows? Perhaps a powerful weapon. Perhaps the secrets of the universe. Maybe we'll never know..."

_My hair's a bit stringier than usual. Did I use the wrong brand?..._

"However, thus far, only two people have been able to come close to unveiling this deep secret..."

_It was the blue one, I'm sure of it... Wait... He's not talking about Tito and Smithy, is he?..._

The frustrated Prof. Gladius picked up another eraser. He held it in his shaking hand, about to whallop the boy once again. Cutlass didn't notice. He remained sitting, staring out the window.

"You absentminded, inattentive..."

"What?" Cutlass faced the teacher again. However, it was only for a mere second he saw what he was going to do with that eraser. Both the silver aliens at that moment suddenly looked out the window. In the distance, they could see something huge and ax-like floating in the sky, descending into the middle of the city like an aircraft. Whatever it was, the two couldn't stop gawking at it.

"Er... Yes, um," the proffessor started, breaking the silence. "I'm afraid this is no time for being distracted, Young Master Cutlass, and- Oh, yes."

Whap! "AH!!"

"Pay attention!!"

Cutlass stared in annoyance at his teacher as he rubbed his forehead. The teacher just shook his head and picked up another piece of chalk, but again, the session was interrupted.

The sound of heavy footsteps were outside the door. They got louder until the thing slammed open and two muscular purple aliens in uniform burst in, each one toting a hi-tech rifle. The silvers were very confused. "No need to be alarmed, citizens," one of the foot soldiers said. "Continue as you were. This is merely a procedure in the overtaking of the city. Any false actions can and will result in your immediate prosecution."

"Well, fine timing, lunk-heads! Didn't I tell you not to come in at this time? I- Oh, right." The teacher saw Cutlass's horrified look and instantly swapped expressions. "I mean, uh, YOU BASTARDS!! Overtaking the city? How could you!?"

All eyes turned towards the young Cutlass. He was out of his seat and standing right in front of his teacher, glaring at him. When he looked out the window, he saw more soldiers like the two in the room running rampant through the streets. "What is going on here?" he demanded.

"I- Uh, ha ha, well..." The teacher tugged at his collar nervously with his index finger. "You gotta understand, Cutlass! People are like horses; how can you expect them to get moving if you don't start beating them?"

"Oh, can it."

Cutlass walked past his bewildered tutor and up to the purple aliens standing guard. Both aimed their guns at the boy. "We're sorry, young master, but even you can't leave the vicinity," one of them said.

Cutlass scoffed and drew his blade. "Worthless..."

SHING! "AUUGGHH!!!" Both aliens dropped their guns and buckled beneath their legs, clutching at their knees. Blood was starting to seep out from beneath their hands. Another metallic SHING and the same sword that did this to them was at their necks.

"Tell me where Cutthroat is," the boy threatened.

"A-At the town hall," one of the aliens gasped.

"Tch. So that's what this is all about, huh?" Cutlass mumbled. He pulled his sword back, sheathed it, and ran past the aliens. Only they and a very horror-stricken Gladius were left behind.

_Old man,_ Cutlass thought as he ran through the halls of the mansion, _there's no use in hiding it. I know you're the one behind this..._

* * *

"...And by the time it was all over, there was nothing left. Just a pile of dust and a puddle of guts. It was horrible!!"

Deep down in a certain cave, a very spooked Centaur was kneeling before three others of his kind. Two of them were bigger and more physically fit than him, but the gigantic one in the middle possessed an overwhelming girth. He was more blob than man. One of his flabby arms was stuffing a large chicken leg into his voracious maw. Around his eyebrows, his temples, and his cheeks were a pair of swirly, black flame-like tattoos. His grey eyes were even more pale than usual, providing them with the air of a ghost.

"Insolence," the gluttonous Centaur growled in a raspy voice after downing another bite. "I thought I told you..." The man lifted up his pudgy free hand and hovered it above the Centaur to his right. "NOT TO ACT ON YOUR OWN!!!"

There was deafening cracking sound like a whip. The Centaur on the right yelled and clutched at the back of his head. The head Centaur shook his hand in midair and returned to eating. "That Minister Zelm is NOT to be underestimated," the monstrous Centaur snarled. "Even that Duke Swuke of the Swoompires refuses to go near him." The tremendous Centaur shoved the entire chicken leg, bone and all, into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "For now, I'll overlook you foolishly sending three of your men on an impossible assassination attempt, but, from now on, _I_ have the final say in things down here. Do you understand?"

The Centaur on the right continued to rub his cranium. He wasn't sure if the pain would ever subside. "Yes... Mr. Bedrus, sir..."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to my research..." The humungous Centaur licked his fingers, turned around, and began to let his meaty horse legs carry him through the vast cave. Each of his footsteps were very dense, and it wasn't until a while later when the three Centaurs still in the area could no longer feel their vibrations in their hooves.

The taller Centaur that hadn't been yelled at turned towards the other with his arms folded. "See, Badra? I told you."

"Shut up, idiot..."

* * *

Cutlass ran through the streets madly. He kept seeing people being flushed out of buildings, each one with a gun being pointed at their backs. Some of them were crouching down on the ground with their hands being held over their heads. The many sights sickened the young Cutlass.

_Absolute control?_ he pondered. Then his eyes caught something very disturbing: a team of corrupt soldiers crowding around and clubbing one of the citizens. This time, Cutlass had had it. We whipped out his sword and ran towards the offenders. In a flash, all of them had felt the blade.

"What the-"

"ACKK!!"

"HELP!!"

Cutlass jumped down from his handiwork. Looking behind him, he could see the disgraceful purple aliens writhing on the ground, clutching at their bleeding limbs in agony. Then he saw the silver that was being apprehended getting back on his feet. It was actually a boy his age, but he wasn't very happy.

The boy ran up to Cutlass and grabbed him by the roots of his collar. "Is this how it is, you conniving show-off?!" It was the short-tempered Rapier from the fencing class. "Whenever everything's alright, the spotlight's gotta be on you, and whenever something like THIS happens, suddenly, you're the big hero?! You make me sick!!"

"How about a 'thank you', fellow classmate?" Cutlass muttered darkly.

"Thank you? THANK YOU?! How about I thank you over my dead body, you little freak?!"

"If you insist..."

Rapier gasped. His eyes bugged out and he clutched at a huge, bleeding hole in his stomach. The boy uttered one curse, then fell to the ground. Cutlass stared at the old enemy of his spitefully. When he looked around, he noticed that all of those on the streets who had witnessed this were staring at him, too petrified to move. Cutlass just snorted at them.

"Little brat," the boy heard from behind him. He turned around and noticed the soldiers he had wounded earlier were getting back on their feet. They were mad as hornets. "We'll teach you to take our prey from us!!"

Now a stampede of purple aliens were on Cutlass's tail. Thinking quickly, he spun around on his heel and began bolting down the streets, ever keeping his eyes on the town hall. _I can't believe this,_ he seethed. _Now the entire town is against me. None of this would have happened, if..._

On top of the roof of the town hall, the culprits of this horrendous operation were at work. The bodyguards were all lying down, trying desperately to catch their breath and lick their wounds. Meanwhile, Smithy and Cutthroat were standing back, watching in amusement as Tito took something from the shaking hands of the governor of the city. He looked at the document in satisfaction. "Increased taxes," he mumbled, "a soldier in every home... Yes, this looks adequate..." The alien then pulled out his laser pistol and pointed it at the trembling governor's chest. "What's that look on your face?" the alien asked condescendingly. "Are you telling me I broke my promise? Oh, dear man, I weep for you. You see, you never had a prayer to begin with. And now..."

BAAMM!! With a huge explosion of blood and guts, the man's life was no more. His body slumped down to the ground and remained still for good. Tito smirked. Then he and his two friends began to roar with laughter. It was here when the doors to the roof flung open, a very angry Cutlass behind them.

"CUUUTHHRROOAATT!!"

Tito, Smithy, and Cutthroat stopped laughing. The silver swordsman of the group looked very irritated. Calmly, he turned around and faced his son. "Cutlass, I thought I taught you better than to refer to your father by his first name."

"Shut up," the boy snapped. His father raised an eyebrow at him. Tito and Smithy were starting to chuckle to themselves. Cutlass began to advance towards his tyrannical parent. "I don't owe anything to you anymore. You've taken EVERYTHING away from me. I should just kill you, right here, right now."

Cutthroat shook his head. "Such a worthless child I raised," he grumbled. "In case you didn't notice, we're making history here. The conquest of this dismal town is the first step towards a brighter future for our galaxy. The least you could do is sit in your room and study while the grown-ups do all the work..."

Cutlass pulled out his sword again. "Always talking down to me like that," he growled. "Did you ever once stop to think that maybe, just maybe, what you're doing is wrong? That some people might want you dead? Huh?!"

Cutthroat closed his eyes and inhaled softly. "Numerous times," he replied.

Cutlass gawked at his heartless father. He tightened the grip on his sword to the point veins were bulging on his fingers. "How can you be so calm?" he snarled. "I'm going to kill you..."

Cutthroat scoffed. "No, you're not, Cutlass; you CAN'T kill me. You've tried... countless times."

Cutlass snapped. He raised his sword into the air and let out an ear-splitting roar. CHING!! Although the assault began in less than a second, Cutthroat was able to block it. He looked down humorlessly at his enraged son as they crossed swords. The son yanked his blade away and swung at the man's torso. CHING! Blocked again. The veins were rippling in Cutlass's eyes. Cutthroat still looked bored.

Now his son was coming at him completely relentlessly. His attacks were nonstop. His blade kept swinging at his father tirelessly, not slowing down even for a second. He was even starting to resemble a small tornado of blades. He had become an incarnation of his own hatred. All of this, and yet Cutthroat could still hold his ground.

Gradually, the frustration welled up in his son. Why was it that, no matter what, this man couldn't be cut? Were his reflexes really so flawless? Desperation started to crush the young Cutlass. Sweat was pouring down all over his body, getting into his eyes and seeping between his fingers. With his vision blurred and his grip loosening, all he could do now was rely on pure malice. Yet, still, Cutthroat remained unharmed. Then...

SHICK!! Cutlass flew back. A gash had been slashed onto his chest. His sword slipped from his hands and he could swear his heart had stopped. He landed on his back and skidded to a stop. His breaths were quick and shaking. Above him, the sadistic Tito and Smithy were chortling. Cutlass gnashed his teeth and prayed for a slow, horrible death upon them all.

Cutthroat calmly strode towards his fallen son. He was about to pick himself up when he found a large, razor sharp sheath of metal at his quivering neck. Cutlass stared at it, feeling as though he were growing thinner. He looked up and saw the cold red eyes of his looming father.

"You know, Cutlass," he said, "there's a reason why I don't just kill you. It's because you and I... are one and the same..." Cutlass said nothing. He merely continued to stare fixedly at his father. "That's right, Cutlass," Cutthroat continued. "You and I, the same flesh, the same blood. To kill you would be to kill myself, and I can't have that. I have a legacy to fulfill, so I mustn't die no matter what. Unfortunately, while my will is everlasting, my body's time in this world is but finite, but with the miracle of life, there's a way around that. You, Cutlass, will eventually rise and take my throne. The legacy will continue!! Heh, and should you find a girl you like, and should your son find a girl HE likes... I will continue to be reborn into this world, again and again, and that, my son, is the true meaning of immortality..."

Tito and Smithy smiled approvingly. Cutthroat sheathed his sword. He knelt down and grabbed his son by the scruff of his shirt. "I am your father," he growled into his face. "YOU CAN NEVER OPPOSE ME!!"

Cutthroat suddenly felt two hands clasping tightly around his wrist. He caught a glimpse of his son's hateful eyes and CRACK!! "AUURRGHH!!" The father immediately released his son and started clutching desperately at his wrist. He hadn't counted on every bone in it suddenly becoming shattered. Angrily, he cursed beneath his breath. He saw a sliver of silver out of the corner of his eye and he spun around, still hissing in pain. He saw Cutlass had grabbed a hold of the governor's dead body and run towards the edge of the building. Alarmed, Tito and Smithy drew their weapons and pointed them at the boy, but Cutthroat waved them down. Slowly, the two conquerors backed off. "Cutlass," Cutthroat growled, "what are you doing?"

"I don't know," Cutlass said firmly. "All I know is that I don't belong here." He hoisted up the dead body in his clutches and tightened his grip on it. "Don't follow me," he said. "If you do, I'll kill you..."

The boy caught one last glimpse of the three of Cutthroat, Tito, and Smithy staring at him seriously. Then he took a deep breath and jumped backwards. Shocked, Tito and Smithy ran up to the edge of the building and looked down. Cutlass was repositioning himself so that he was on top of the governor's corpse. He held on tight and clenched his eyes shut, preparing himself for the landing. The ground rushed faster and faster towards him like a massive comet. With all of his courage coursing through him, all he could do now was leave it to fate...

SPLAT!! Cutlass's entire form jolted violently. The land was like a quick electric shock. Still aching from the fall, he pried his eyes open. Indeed, he had survived, the body he had ridden was now a mess lying in the streets with a giant puddle of blood and brains for a head.

Shakily, the young alien forced himself back onto his feet. It was then he saw more horrified faces in one place than he ever did in his entire life. The people of the city had seen what he had done.

"What is going on?..."

"Did you see that? Cutlass just killed the governor!!"

"That monster... He's no better than his father after all!!"

"KILL THE LITTLE BASTARD!!"

Now the silvers were starting to run towards Cutlass, fury blazing in their eyes. However, none of them could get very far. The purple aliens kept rushing up to them and seizing them. Some of them even started to club the enraged citizens.

Cutlass looked around him in confusion. At this point, the entire town had gone insane. They all wanted his blood, and they didn't care if they had to get their bones broken or their houses destroyed in order to get it. All the while, countless profanities were ringing through the air. They were roaring his name and shrieking for vengeance.

"KILL HIM!!"

"SLIT HIM OPEN!!"

"DRINK HIS BLOOD!!!"

Cutlass was aghast. All he could hear now was a raging sea of demonic cries, sirens, and even windows being shattered. His eyes twitched, his heart sank, and his blood boiled. _God curse this planet,_ he seethed, clutching at his head. Being driven by insanity, he bolted off and began running madly through the streets, wanting little more than to put this ungrateful town behind him. It was only a matter of time until his presence had disappeared from it completely...

Up on the roof of the town hall, Tito and Smithy were helping an injured Cutthroat back onto his feet. The three watched as the young Cutlass sped off into the distance. Two of them were a tad worried.

"You alright with this, Cutthroat?" Smithy asked. "He is your son, after all..."

"Don't worry," Cutthroat breathed, still gritting his teeth from his broken wrist. "He'll come back. He has to..."

* * *

Behind his eyelids, Cutlass's eyes were moving back and forth. His brow was furled as he lied on his back. Both he and the Kamenstein Bros. were resting away atop Annabyss's head in Nep-Enut form. Wario and Waluigi had their backs to each other with their arms folded and their hats pulled over their faces. In the back of the group, Big Guy and Laser Snifit were talking to each other. Up front, Tessa could only faintly make out what they were saying.

"Yeah, I guess Princess Shokora, Naji, and Shmy Guy DID make quite a team," Big Guy admitted, "but what about those other two guys? Blifit and Sackle?"

"I dunno," Laser Snifit replied. "I can only recall you calling that Sackle guy a 'Sparvette'. He didn't like that."

"Yeah, he wanted to kill me," Big Guy added.

Snifit shook his head. "We met all kinds of people during that war," he said. "Sackle, Shokora... I wonder what they're doing now?"

"Eh," Big Guy exclaimed, "killing more people?"

Snifit shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows at this point..."

Tessa's mind began to wander. She wasn't sure if having listened in on that conversation was the best thing. Now numerous confusing thoughts were filling up her head. She placed her face between her gloved hands and shifted her weary eyes. _War,_ she thought solemnly. Feeling a wave of anxiety pushing down on her shoulders, she breathed a sigh.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn she saw something. Two giant turtles of red and green floating on their backs? She turned to look, but saw nothing. The confused girl decided to dismiss it as her sleep deprivation catching up with her.

But what if her vision had been real? It would have meant a battle had taken place not too long ago, and those tortoises had been on the receiving end of it. The child became reminded of the pirates and the Spear-Masks from earlier that day, and realized her mind was too full.

"Annie?" she asked softly.

"Yes?"

"What's this world about?"

Annabyss paused. "What would you like to know?"

Tessa pushed her index fingers against each other pensively. "Well... It's full of people, right? They all have families and friends to look after, right?"

"That is correct."

"So..." Tessa bit her lower lip. "Why all the pain and suffering? Why can't people just... live together?"

"Because of differences," Annabyss responded.

"Differences?"

"Yes. They were born to different races, different parents, different parts of the world. They grew up alongside different values and ideals. Thus, try as we might, we cannot say we are all headed in the same direction. And... sometimes people get in the way..."

Tessa felt a pang of fear. "So... Is war really the only way out?"

"Not always," the woman elaborated. "However, when a compromise cannot be reached between two parties... sacrifices may have to be necessary..."

"But... Isn't that selfish?"

"In a way, yes," Annabyss explained. "However, it can't be considered selfish if your loved ones are the ones you're fighting for..."

Tessa smiled. She closed her eyes and thought about what the group had been through thus far. The Giant Melon Bug, the Bob-Ombs, the Cutchyas, Larva... Each time, they were thinking of who and what was important to them. It was then the girl could feel something she hadn't in a while: pride.

Then she thought about Marlukin and what HE was fighting for. Again, the girl became confused. The Twelve Gods of Chaos were on her mind once more and it ate away at her. It was an interesting topic she and Annabyss delved into, but...

"Annie, one more question," she asked.

"Yes, dear?"

The young girl squinted her eyes in thought. "Who or what exactly _was_ Annoppelyss?"

Annabyss paused again. "She was... my predecessor..."

* * *

Hyrg shut the door behind him exhaustedly. _God, does that guy talk,_ he thought. The boy sighed in relief and approached the nightstand beside his bed. He picked up the book Galileo had given him and flopped onto the bed. He sat down, cracked it open, and began flipping through the pages. _Now I know about the Black Jewel, Bidden, Count Dheos, and Golden Diva,_ he reviewed. _Who's next?_

It was another long day for the boy. It practically served as only another reminder of how incessant a Death Sickle's work is. Often, it'd end with him tired and confused, wondering when it'd all end. He was starting to take solice in reading the book each night, but this time, when he got to the first page of the next chapter, his jaw dropped and his heart nearly stopped beating. He couldn't believe what he saw in the picture this time.

That curvy body, that elegant skirt, the jewelry, the staff, the angel wings... All of it was there. The boy's eyes moved up and down the form of this figure before him. No matter which way he looked at it, he had seen this being before, and it was no coincidence. He would have been convinced otherwise had the creature not have had the head of a jackal.

"It can't be," Hyrg croaked through a dry throat. "It just can't..."

_God of Chaos #5: Annoppelyss_

_Gender: Female__  
__God of: Anuboos__  
__Element: Lightning_

"Please, God, no..."

_Annoppelyss is most certainly unique amongst the Twelve Gods. She possessed both shape-shifting skills and a superior intellect, both of which rivaled by few throughout the world. Some say her origins lie in the University of Zohn on the Zohn Continent. Legend has it, she was a professor there that studied up on how to become a god, and she eventually took her theory into practice. In any case, she was a woman of power and ambition, and she had the whole world right in front of her._

_Annoppelyss was a philisophical woman, claiming the gem atop her staff signified the start of a new era. She said there'd be three more, starting with this one. According to her, after that, the world would end, and she, herself, played an integral role in it all. Thinking of what was best for everyone, she set forth for one man: Minister Calvec, founder and original leader of the Death Sickles..._

Hyrg's heart was pounding faster and faster. For once, he was finding out about someone he may have personally known. With each word he read, he could feel himself sliding further down a pit of the unknown. First, he finds out about this woman's power; now he finds her target was someone particularly important and dangerous.

The picture showed a man with grey skin, just like some of the other Death Sickles. He was relatively tall and he had a long face, slightly wrinkled with age. Behind his thick, dark lips were rows of fangs, like in a shark's mouth. The man was licking them in satisfaction with a long pointy tongue. He wore a small pair of rectangular glasses, masking a yellow eye in the right socket and a pure white one in the left, eerily resembling the moon. His hair was long and white. The front two locks of it were braided fanficully and dangling in front of his chest. He wore a guady suit of armor with a tremendous, billowing cloak, like a king. In one clawed hand, he had a lit cigarette. The other was leaning on what appeared to be an immensely large sword.

_Minister Calvec,_ Hyrg thought, remembering this man's image from the group he saw before. _Minister Zelm's ancestor?..._ The trembling young boy continued reading.

_However, this time, things were not swinging in the favor of Annoppelyss. While her sights were set on the minister, it was an entirely different group she wound up with: a powerful legion of reptilian warriors, the Kroshies..._

Hyrg saw another picture. This one was full of various Yoshi-like creatures, each of them with much more colorful skin than usual. Some of them looked like they were made of gold while others, emerald, sapphire, and the like. They kind of reminded the young Death Sickle of the Spritelings from the Black Jewel passage.

_Each Kroshi possessed the strength of the average god, making each one a force to be reckoned with, at least by Annoppelyss..._

Hyrg squinted his eyes at the last sentence. _"Average god"?..._

_In the final battle, the Kroshies gave everything they had against the female god. After all, they couldn't forgive her for what she had done to the people of Leprechaun Mountain. To this day, it has been remembered as one of the greatest travesties of all time..._

When Hyrg saw the next few pictures, he felt thousands of tiny spiders crawling all over him, freezing every cell in his body. Soon, he was ice cold and petrified. When he looked at these images, he saw a strange island floating in the sky. Then he saw the people that inhabited this island: human-like creatures with pointy ears and heads of long, colorful hair coming in red, pink, and purple. At first, he was merely looking at a certain woman he met once. Now, he was looking at his sister.

When he saw the next picture, his pupils shrank considerably and he could feel a stinging sensation inside his mind, driving him mad. He saw was all the people of that island lying on the ground, each one a bloodier mess than the last.

With ten throbbing white knuckles, the boy clenched the book into his hands and threw it out the window. CCRRAASSHH!!! Shards of glass exploded forth like a storm of ice. Hyrg panted heavily, feeling his face burning. His thoughts raced frantically as his twitching eyes slowly swiveled to the sword by his side.

_What am I doing here?_ he raved. _My sister is in the hands of that maniacal woman and I'm sitting here learning about a bunch of dead people!!_

Hyrg breathed madly while staring at his sword. He pictured what lengths he'd have to go through just to find that woman and personally sever her head from her neck. At this time, nothing else mattered to him.

He jumped down from his bed, walked up to the windowsill, and climbed onto it. He looked down and saw the dirty ground of the forest. It was a few stories away, but such a drop wasn't nearly enough to frighten the boy. The training he had undergone these past few days had prepared him for worse.

He closed his eyes, concentrated, and sprang. He shot a few feet into the air like a meteor. Then he reached the peak of his arc and began to drift down. He was plummeting rather quickly, but he kept his cool. In the next instant, the ground was right in front of him. It took everything he had to land with a sprawling roll, but it worked.

Hyrg picked himself up, groaning at the pain his muscles just took, yet he didn't feel as though anything had just happened. He looked up and saw the book on the ground, followed by a few pieces of broken glass. He looked up and saw the Death Sickles' hideout. It was an interesting place, but now something had to be done. Hyrg swallowed hard, turned heel, and sped into the Forbidden Forest.

_Annoppelyss,_ he thought vengefully, _I will kill you..._

Off the young Death Sickle ran, accompanied only by his own wily instincts. Behind him, he left many things. On the ground, the book lay. Incidentally, it was on the last page of the chapter. Written there was something further about this God of Anuboos...

_However, the Leprechauns don't hate her for what happened,_ it said. _After all, it is said that Annoppelyss didn't have a choice..._

* * *

Elsewhere in the woods, two Centaurs were going for a walk, both hidden beneath the stars and the leaves of the forest. One of them had a tattoo on his face, similar to the one Bedrus had, but it covered only the left side. The other Centaur's was on his right. Also, while the first Centaur wore his hair in a ponytail, the other one had his in a braided mohawk. The first one was still rubbing where he got hurt. He was looking very depressed while his partner was just annoyed.

"Seriously, Badra," said the annoyed one, "how long are you gonna kick yourself for this? It was a fairly decent idea, and it didn't work. It happens."

"If you sneak up on someone," Badra moped, "it doesn't matter WHO they are, it works! That's what I was always told."

"It was Minister freaking Zelm. Get over it."

"God, I'm such an idiot. At this rate, we'll NEVER bring back Bidden."

"Shut it with that. Bedrus will think of something. We'll be back on our feet before you know it."

"Agh..."

The other Centaur stopped talking for a moment. He stood still and began to shift his eyes around. When Badra noticed finally, he stopped and looked at his comrade.

"What? What is it?"

"Just hold on a second..."

Badra watched impatiently. His partner continued looking shifty-eyed until something finally happened. A blur of grey and blue leapt out of nowhere and brandished an oddly-colored sword. Badra gasped, but his partner merely threw out an arm and caught the sudden assailant squarely by the neck. His sword fell from his hands. Now he was struggling to get this monster's hands off of his neck. Both of the servants of Bidden took a good look at this enemy. It was a Death Sickle, and a notably young one at that.

"Alright, kid," said the other Centaur. "What's your problem? What are you after?"

"Annoppelyss," Hyrg croaked. "Take me to Annoppelyss!!"

The two Centaurs looked at each other for a second. Then the two sported a pair of mischievous grins. "You want her too, eh?" said the one clutching Hyrg by the neck. "Then... You wanna join forces?"

Hyrg gasped. He glared at the enemy Centaur with gritting teeth. "I could never do that," he snarled. "You work for the Twelve Gods of Chaos!!"

"Tch," said the Centaur. "Just another Death Sickle..." He looked Hyrg directly into his eyes. "Listen, kid... We're not servants of the 'Twelve Gods of Chaos'; THEY are."

"...'They'?"

"Yeah, 'they'. The Mummies, the Swoompires, the Cyclopses; THEY! Don't confuse us with them. We're Centaurs. We work for Bidden. No one else."

Hyrg spat in the Centaur's face. The saliva splattered onto his left eyelid, but he just started squinting with one eye. "Funny," Hyrg growled. "You all look the same to me."

"Indiscriminatory Death Sickles, ha ha," the Centaur mocked, wiping the spit off his face with one hand. "Look, kid, word of advice: stop judging people by whose side they're on. Friends could be all around you, and you don't even know it. Think about it, kid. We both want Annoppelyss dead, right?"

Hyrg rasped through a tightly bound throat. "Your point being?"

"I'm saying, if we both have a common enemy, then why are we fighting? Shouldn't we be working together?" Hyrg didn't say anything. He just continued to glare at the Centaur and make choking noises. "What? Don't tell me you think you can handle her on your own, what with that puny blade and all..."

_What was I thinking?_ Hyrg thought, feeling his eyes starting to roll back. _I can't handle a god, no matter how much I hate them!!_

"Tch. Stupid kid..." WHUMP! The Centaur dropped the boy. He landed on the ground and started clutching at his throat, gasping desperately for air. Badra looked sickened by it.

"You overdid it, Bodig," he said.

"No, I didn't." Bodig sauntered up to the rasping Hyrg. He picked him up by his robes in one hand and picked up his sword in the other.

"Put me down, you jerk!!"

"Oh, cram it." The Centaur began to walk off in the other direction. Badra was following closely. "Look, kid, I gave you an offer, and you passed it up. I can't be held liable for what happens. Besides, you're too weak to be of any use to anyone, anyway."

Hyrg stopped struggling for a second. He stared at Bodig through frightened eyes. "What??"

"Oh, don't worry, kid," Bodig taunted. "If the other Death Sickles like you, they'll come and get you, won't they? Heh heh heh heh heh..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!"

Even the smaller, quieter Centaur was laughing. Hyrg clutched at his face fearfully. _What have I done?!_ he mourned. _I betrayed them!!_

"Come on, Badra, let's take him back to the cave. Maybe Bedrus will be proud of you for once."

"Yeah, maybe-" Badra stopped walking. He furled his brow, then continued after his cohort. "Yeah... Maybe..."

* * *

"...And then my brother revived you?"

"Yes."

"I see..."

Big Guy and Laser Snifit had been rendered speechless. They heard quite a few things between Tessa and Annabyss. Some of those things seemed to open their eyes a bit. They had to take a moment to themselves to think over what was going on.

"Man," Big Guy finally said after a while. "Two Annabysses? And one of them is working for the enemy? I never would have guessed it!"

"She is full of surprises, alright," Laser Snifit replied.

"Geez, for a second there, I thought we might have been working for someone Tondariya hated!"

"Um," Snifit said, "Tondariya DOES hate her."

"Oh," Big Guy elicited. "She does?"

"Yup."

Big Guy paused. "But why?"

"Well..." Laser Snifit scratched his head. "Because Tondariya wanted the world for herself. Annabyss doesn't think it's in anyone's right to say who or what it belongs to."

"Oh," Big Guy responded. "But why would she hate that?"

"Big Guy," Snifit said, "I think it's time to admit we were never really servants of Tondariya to begin with."

"But," Big Guy fretted, "we had so much fun with the others! All those adventures we had!"

"They were adventures," Snifit retorted. "Not us working for some female monster."

Big Guy was baffled. He stared at his friend in the utmost of disbelief. "Wha-" he stammered. "But I thought you preferred to call her a goddess?"

Laser Snifit held out his hands. "What do YOU call her?"

Big Guy hung his head heavily. "I... I don't know..."

Snifit patted his overgrown friend on the back. "Give it time," he said. "You just need to think."

Big Guy stared deeply into the sea. The Nep-Enut they were riding on was leaving one long trail of waves after another. It was almost hypnotic. _Maybe Snifit is right,_ the giant Shy Guy pondered. _Maybe I _did_ just join the Shy Gang for fun. But... Shy King... He was one of the most intelligent, most powerful guys I've ever known. How could I have NOT listened to him? But, then again, Annabyss... Agh, it's all so confusing..._

Big Guy thought it through. Soon enough, all kinds of images were flowing through his head. In each one, he saw a vast assortment of the people he remembered seeing or meeting in the past. Princess Shokora, Sackle, the Demonic Jesters, the Super Mushroom League... Even all the friends he made back in the Shy Gang. Each of them had their own beliefs and motives, and they all had their own ways of fighting. He couldn't count how many clashes this resulted in, but he could tell each one was a battle of views.

But what brought about those views? Was it the people they were with? The leaders they followed? The gods they worshipped? Distraught with questions, Big Guy pinched his eyes shut with his fingers and sighed. He picked his head up and looked behind himself briefly. Beyond the resting Wario, Cutlass, and Waluigi, he saw the young Tessa, lying down on the Nep-Enut with her arms spread out. It almost looked as though she was giving it a hug...

_Annoppelyss,_ she thought, _I will revive you..._

The enormous Shy Guy turned back around and stared blankly. _Maybe,_ he thought, _Tondariya and Annoppelyss... aren't too different from each other. And if THAT'S true, then..._

Big Guy threw himself back. He landed with his back against the transformed Annabyss with his arms spread out. He looked very exhausted. Laser Snifit turned towards him. "You alright, Big Guy?" he asked. The grey 8-Bit received no answer. His giant cohort remained lying down lifelessly. The shorter one stared at him. "...Big Guy?"

"...You know what?" the Shy Guy finally said.

"...What?"

Big Guy looked up at the stars. Again, he saw all the people in this war, the things they were fighting for, who they were fighting beside, and what this all meant. He shook his head. "I don't think the world is big enough for 6,000,000 people..."

Laser Snifit stared at his friend for a second. Slowly, he began to nod. "You know... You may be right..."

...ffFFOOOMMmm...

Big Guy, Laser Snifit, and Tessa jumped upright and looked around. They had heard something, but there was no telling what it was. It just sounded like a tidal wave deep underwater.

"What's going on?" Big Guy panicked. "What was that?"

"It doesn't sound good," Snifit said.

Tessa was looking around with darting eyes. Beads of sweat were starting to coat her brow. "Annie?" she asked fearfully.

"I hear it, dear," the shape-shifting woman said. "All I know is that it's close..."

The four lone conscious members of the group kept on the lookout for a potential enemy. However, except for a watchful eye, there was little they could do. Then, unexpectedly, the sound came again. They could feel it vibrating beneath their feet.

...FFFOOOMMMM...

The other three group members slowly opened their eyes and rubbed them. "Heh? Morning already?" Waluigi asked.

"You guys are a noisy bunch," Cutlass grumped.

"Who is it?" Wario demanded, putting his fists up. "I'll tear him apart!!"

"SHH!" Annabyss hissed. Now all seven of the travelers were on their toes, but it hardly served them well. The next thing they knew, a gigantic explosion of water erupted in the sea before them. Their heads snapped in its direction and they craned their necks up to see what had appeared: a giant green and blue Wiggler, complete with a plumy flower atop its head and a huge mark on its chin. Whatever it was that had happened to this thing previously was no longer of any importance. Its tremendous mandibles were open, and they were flying towards the next victims.

"NOT AGAAAIIINN!!" Big Guy screamed, raising his club.

"Not like this!!" Snifit hissed.

"UUURRRGGHHH!!!" Cutlass had brandished his sword, but he wasn't quick enough. A massive shadow loomed over the group, and before they knew it, everything was black...

SNAP!! The sound of the Wiggler's collossal fangs resonated across the sea. With another seismic splash, it was diving beneath the waves once more. One by one, it sank each of its overwhelming segments into the depths like a great serpent. Moments afterwards, a flower popped above the water like a dorsal fin, and it began to tread a path. Above the creature, a giant Flying Wiggler flapped its wings and a mad woman cackled euphorically.

"You get what you deserve, lowly maggots!!" Larva crowed with arms outspread. "Let's get one thing straight: there's only room in this world for ONE goddess, and you have received her divine judgement!! Anyone who dares to oppose me shall be sentenced to an eternity of despair! Now rot in my pet's gullet and watch as I bring a new light to this pitiful planet..." The demonic sorceress grinned maliciously and pointed to the distance. "Onward," she commanded, "to Uaurpe!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!..."

Thus, the Mistress of Wigglers and her two giant monsters sped off. It was only a matter of time until the ultimate power had been received, and now things were looking bleak. Have Annabyss and friends' fates truly been sealed for good?...

* * *

The sun was up. By now, its light is spreading across the lands, near and far. In the peaceful village of Silicon, people were getting up and preparing for the new day. At Era's house, Davey was a few feet away from the door.

"You have everything you need, dear?" the woman asked.

"Yes'm," Davey replied.

"Alright," said the woman. "Just make sure you be careful, alright?"

"Well," Davey said, "I'll try."

"Good." The woman smiled, knelt down, and gave the boy a hug. Dave was slightly surprised, but he returned the gesture warmly. They pulled themselves back and nodded. "Goodbye, Davey."

"Goodbye, Era." The youthful man walked his way out. While passing through the doorway, a smile creeped onto his face.

He met up with the others at the usual area just outside the inn. Chogun, White Rose, and Leif were there, but Xoshi had yet to show up. "Hey, guys," Davey greeted with a wave. "Where's our fearless leader?"

"He'll be out soon," White Rose informed. Patiently, they waited. In a few seconds, their comrade had shown up. He walked out the door as expected. All the while, he was holding hands with Pixel. The other four watched excitedly as the two turned towards each other, stared into each other's eyes, and slid into each other's arms, tightly. It was as though they wouldn't be able to see each other again for another five years. Slowly, they pulled away. The others could just barely make out their lips moving. Finally, the goodbyes were set and the brown Yoshi approached his four companions.

"You and Davey," Chogun said, "you're too good!"

"Young love," Leif said romantically. "Our young friends have entered a new world!"

"Hey, shut up," Xoshi and Davey said simultaneously. The two looked at each other briefly.

"Well, Sir Xoshi," White Rose asked. "Where to now?"

Xoshi paused for a second. Then he said, "The Forest of Dheos."

"Ah," the knight said. "A realm of Swoopers and bandits in numbers most uncountable. Our journey takes a further plunge into the unknown."

"I know," Xoshi responded. "So everyone, be on your best guard."

The others nodded. With that, the five-some was off. Ahead of them was another adventure, inevitably more filled with perils than the last. Perhaps the worst awaited them, but behind them were their friends. Pixel and Era watched their heroes go. They had seen some dark times, but currently the only thing they were seeing was possibilities. Their prayers were with them...


	42. Chapter 42, Part 1 of 2

**Chapter 42, Part 1 of 2**  
It had been a good few hours since their last adventure. Foreman Spike, Guido, and Oglian were now out of the water and on land. Their travels this time had led them to a long path of dirt in the middle of a vast field of grass. It was a nice scenery, complete with clear skies and a brightly shining sun. However, at the end of this road lied the fabled Forest of Dheos. Their arrival there, Guido was less than looking forward to, but he really wanted his hammer back.

"So then _I_ said to the guy, 'Oh, yeah? Well, my mouth, which is doing all the talking right now, he's got a cousin. He's right here, and he's got his own way of talking to strangers.'" Foreman Spike held up his fist to emphasize his point. "In a few minutes, the guy was talking with a fist full of broken teeth. Can you believe it?"

"Fascinating story, sir," Guido replied. "Um, about this Forest of Dheos; it's not as bad as they say it is, is it?"

"Don't worry, dear, we'll be fine," Oglian reassured.

"If you say so..."

"HEY!!" Spike fumed. Everyone stopped walking. The man started glaring at his partner with his hands on his hips. Both Guido and Oglian were a bit nervous now. "You didn't hear a single word I said, did you?"

"That's not true, sir, I heard EVERYTHING you said, from the part where the guy got you mad to the part where you... punched his lights out..."

"Rrrgh!! That's what you ALWAYS say!! Well, I for one am getting tired of it." Foreman Spike rolled up his sleeve. Guido looked at his arm fearfully.

"Um..."

"This is it, Guido," Spike said threateningly, "broken jaw time!!"

"Spike, you mustn't!!" Oglian urged.

"Uh, uh," guido stuttered, looking around frantically for a way out of this. He saw the forest at the end of the road. In his panick, for one brief moment, he swore on his life he saw something. The trembling Mario jammed an index finger in that direction. "Look, Spike! Look over there! Isn't that that one silver guy you were fighting earlier?!"

"Heh?" The foreman loosened the fingers in his fist some. He turned around and took a look for himself. At this point, there didn't seem to be anything more there than just trees, but the man couldn't ever pass up on an opportunity to beat up an old enemy of his, so he looked harder. "Hmm..." he said as he squinted his eyes and placed a hand above his shades. Now he could see something, too. Sure enough, it faintly resembled a man with silver skin and a striped uniform. Maybe even two of them. "Well shoot," the foreman mused. "You may be right..."

Spike turned around and faced his cohorts. "Alright, guys, it's decided: we're gonna go over there and-" He stopped upon noticing Guido with his back turned towards him. The smaller man's shoulders were hunched and his legs were standing on their toes. "Hey!!" Spike blurted accusingly. "You trying to run away?!"

"Ah, no sir," Guido sweated. "I'm just... doing my toe exercises."

"Well, hurry it up then," Spike replied. "We gotta teach that guy a lesson and soon!" The leader of the group turned around once more. He looked again. This time, he saw something else as well. It seemed even big humanoid frogs could be seen walking around in this forest. "Ho, they've brought their friends along. This oughtta be interesting..." The man spun around and grabbed Guido by the arm. "Dang it, man, hurry it up! Have you any idea how many butts we could be kicking right now?!"

"Uhh..."

"Geez," the man spazzed. Now he was running as hard as he could. A befuddled Guido was being dragged behind him. In the rear was a very flustered Oglian. Now all three of them were running down this road as though their lives depended on it.

_Lord,_ Guido lamented, _someone save me from this crazy person..._

* * *

Indeed, inside the Forest of Dheos, a rather large group of people were marching around. They were none other than the 100 aliens from the ship, each of them headed by the ever imposing Wart. The whole lot of them had undergone their fair share of tree-evading and even marsh-exploring. It was tiresome, yet the entire army continued to march. After all, this was a group of strength and high spirits. A few of them were even chatting away between friends. 

"So, uh," the colossal Toonga said to Tobi and Tapoleon, "we're going to the moon, right? That glowy thing in the sky, right?"

"Of course, Toonga! Don't tell me you've forgotten the mission already?" Tapoleon answered. His gigantic cohort started scratching the top of his head, much like the purple ape that he was.

"Uh," he hesitated. "Nope. I didn't forget, but... We're not gonna be seein'... cheese there, are we?"

"Cheese?" Tapoleon scoffed. "Please!"

"No cheese?"

"No cheese."

Toonga stared blankly. His left eye started twitching and a vein was beginning to throb on his temple. Then the humungous alien started snarling and clenching his fists. When Tapoleon saw this, he just rolled his eyes. The ever cautious Tobi just started walking a little slower, falling behind the group in the process. Up front, Trigg could only barely make this out going on behind him. The suave sharpshooter heaved a sigh.

_Gimme something to kill,_ he prayed. _I need it..._

Nearby the purple aliens, there were the silvers. Taking the lead was Katana. The man remained quiet and well-behaved for the most part throughout this march. Behind him, the easily excited Cloaker and Domino were refusing to shut up.

"I don't know, Cloaker," Domino said. "I know he was an asset to the group, but seriously... who needs him?"

"For shame, Domino!" Cloaker objected. "Maybe he WAS a narcissus, but you have no idea what that boy's been going through!"

"Defending him, are you?" Domino retorted. "That Cutlass? Have you any idea what he plans on doing to our beloved Smithy?"

Cloaker gasped and covered his mouth. "Not Smithy!!"

Katana squinted his eyes when he overheard this. _Cutlass and Smithy?_ he pondered. _What in the world could be the connection?..._

And next to the silvers were the frogs. The two up front were the worst of them all. Welt and Wartini were growling back and forth about something.

_"BEER... "_

_"BLOOD!"_

_"BEER..."_

_"BLOOD!!"_

_"BEER..."_

_"BLOOD!!!"_

After that, the two were silent, although Welt was still gritting his teeth, making strange clicking noises, and shaking his fists beside him. Wartini was just dragging his feet with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Then he said something again.

_"BEER..."_

_"BLUH-"_

_"SHUT UP!!"_ Two other frogs, a tall one named Wax and a short one named Wane, had had enough. After their outburst, the two head frogs turned their heads and glared at the other two. Wax and Wane glared back. Then Welt and Wartini faced forward again.

_"BEER..."_

_"BLUH-"_

_"WE SAID SHUT UP!!"_

Beyond all the aliens, their rotund leader was feeling his nerves grating as he tromped through these woods and made his way around various shrubs and branches. It was clear even to him that few of his minions were the sharpest knives, yet he still chose to place his faith in them.

_ALL OF THESE SOLDIERS ARE TOTAL BUFFOONS_ he thought, _BUT I BROUGHT THEM WITH ME FOR A REASON..._

"Say, Wart," Katana said to him.

_"YES."_

"You didn't catch sight of a couple of guys and a Magikoopa, did you?"

_"NO."_

"Just checking..."

* * *

Even deeper into the forest, the Swoompires were again at work. The powerful Swampic was rapidly digging a huge hole in the ground using nothing but his bare hands, the shapely Swan was peering between two trees, and the lanky Swoosh was using his insane legs to hop from one section of the woods to the next. Elsewhere, Swine was furiously digging into an opening in a tree's trunk. Swoompster wasn't in it, but a ton of little worms were. The peckish Swoompire promptly shoved them all into his mouth and began to chew. 

High above this part of the forest was the authoritative Duke Swuke. The humorless man was floating in the sky having turned his arms and legs into pillars of swirling purple mist. Left and right, he scanned the area. His purple eyes were sharp, but they saw no sign of their missing teammate. _One more place to look, and then we leave,_ he decided.

The Swoompires' desire to get their cohort back was running as strong as ever, but one of them was hardly contributing to the group. It was the elderly one with his back against a tree, his top hat covering the upper half of his face, and his mouth making loud noises.

"SNNRRKK... SNNRRKK..."

His mind was off in a mystical land full of all the blood and liver he could ever ask for, but his body was still in the Forest of Dheos. In a matter of seconds, a comrade of his had lunged to his side, and he didn't even notice.

"Hey, Sward," the competitive Swoosh urged as he knelt down and shook the old man by the left shoulder. "SWARD!!" Still nothing. Frustrated, the humungous Swoompire finally just slapped the geezer in the face. At last, the aged man slowly awoke.

"Ahh, nothing quite like a good nap," he mumbled. Gradually, he shifted his face towards his towering ally. "Eh? You need something, Swoosh?"

"Do I need something? Forget about me, have you any idea what you're doing right now?!"

Sward took a long pause. "What am I doing?"

"NOTHING!" Swoosh exclaimed. "For christ' sake, man, Duke Swuke is watching! He'd take your head clean off for slacking off if he got the chance!"

Another pause from the old man. "That so?"

"Agh, you're hopeless..." The irritated Swoosh stood back onto his long legs and turned around, rubbing the back of his head. Behind him, he could hear the eldest member of the group giving out a prominent yawn. "Hey, as long as you're here, maybe you can help me with something," Swoosh added.

"Yes, son."

"About those ghosts we met earlier," he began. "Nothing about them seemed... off, did it?"

The wrinkled Sward thought about it for a second. He faintly remembered a group of nine people floating around in the middle of nowhere. Some of them had some pretty big noses whereas others didn't have any noses whatsoever. All of them looked pretty pale. "Anything threatening about'em, m'boy?"

"Not really, I guess," Swoosh stated. "It's just... I heard of a group called the Spookalings."

"...What of them?"

"I heard they openly declared war on Tondariya... Not even we would do something that huge... Would we?"

"Why not?"

"Uh..." Swoosh rubbed the back of his head some more. "No reason, I guess..."

"Buck up, boy," Sward advised. "Scared of a little faerie like Tondariya? Come now; you're the Swoompire of Pride. Show us some spunk."

An exclamation mark materialized above Swoosh's head. He suddenly bent his knees and jammed his fists in front of him. "DAMN RIGHT!!!" he bellowed. Sward nodded. He pulled his hat back over his eyes and began to nod off some more.

"SWOOSH! SWARD!!" Both Swoompires jerked their heads up. The intimidating Duke Swuke was back on the ground and walking past them. "Pack up. Last area..."

The two Swoompires nodded and began to follow their companions. Swan bumped into Swoosh in the process, and the two yelled at each other. Afterwards, it was only a matter of time until they reached the final area and began to take their search for the missing Swoompster to the next level...

* * *

Meanwhile, a very excited Razeil was hopping from tree to tree. He had been keeping at this for a good deal of time now. The number of interesting things he had seen in these woods was too vast to count. Giddily, he stopped somewhere and peered beneath him. Down there was that group of nine from earlier, the Spookalings. He madly giggled to himself as he kept his distance and maintained a watchful eye. "One-hundred-and-twenty-three coconuts," he whispered to himself anxiously. "My mouth is watering..." 

In the ghost' case, they had ways of their own to keep themselves entertained throughout this expedition in the forest. "Just a little longer," the Wereyoshi growled to his friend Jax. "I'll wait that long for some action around here." The small Il from Il Ville nodded in agreement.

Further away from them were the girls of the group. Each of them seemed to be ticked about something. "Those stupid little Raven things," Princess Cherry Blossom grumbled. "When I get my hands on them..."

"I know!" Dorreen fumed. "The nerve of some people! Taking away my parasol like that... RRG!!"

"Forget about your parasol," the princess commented. "That staff was a family heirloom!" The girl heard a cynical snorting sound beside her. She turned and faced Capt. Spatula. "Got a problem, missy?"

"It was worth a few thousand," the pirate explained. "Why does it come as such a surprise to you it'd eventually be stolen?"

The princess growled furiously. She held out her hands as if to strangle her selfish partner. The captain just folded her arms and scoffed once more.

"You guys don't think my nose is too big, do you?" The two girls stopped and turned towards Yoshiki. The female Yoshi was worriedly patting at the facial feature in question.

"Oh, of course not, Ms. Yoshiki! It's the most lovely nose in the world!" Holy Troopa adjusted his glasses and pulled a sheet of paper out from behind him. "Here, I wrote a poem about your nose. Ahem...

_"Your nose is like a rose__  
__'Tis a fine nose__  
__A nose that arose from-"_

"NO NO NO!! I HATE POETRY!!" Big Boo wailed. "I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT!!" It didn't take long for Holy Troopa and Yoshika to start bickering with him. All the while, the other three girls were continuing to gripe, and the remaining three people were starting to get a little annoyed, King Boo and the Wereyoshi especially.

_For the love of God, someone shut them up,_ King Boo thought bitterly.

Up in the branches, Razeil was still giggling excitedly. "One-hundred-and-twenty-three," he repeated. "I can't wait..."

* * *

Outside the Forest of Dheos, three friends were giggling crazily over the weapons they had just received. They were all swinging them around here and there, grinning excitedly as though multiple enemies would fall after each blow. 

"So much power in a simple piece of metal," Goomba Prince admired. "I feel like a king again!"

"I can block the sun!" Razule declared. He flipped open his newfound parasol and held it high over his head. "No one's gonna rain on my parade now!"

"You guys are kidding yourselves," Ren said. "_I_ got the best one..." The power-hungry Raven shouldered his new staff, closed one eye, and started aiming at different spots in the sky. Surely some unsuspecting birds were around for this. "Come on," he urged. Finally, he was able to lock onto something. The Raven laughed heartily. "Jackpot!!"

FOOM...

* * *

Up in the sky, a devious golden Yoshi was soaring through the air, courtesy of the strength of his powerful legs. His destination, the Forest of Dheos, was just a few meters away, but he was actually looking for something a bit more specific. 

_Hmm..._ he thought as he kept his eyes peeled for his real target. _If I recall correctly, that brown Yoshi is on a hunt for seven people, and one of them is in this forest. If my calculations are correct, his travels would have caused him to meet someone beforehand, and the two should meet again right about-_

FFWWOOSSHH!! "AAUURRGGHH!!" The Kroshi's concentration was destroyed. He had been nailed by somethin huge and burning like a massive fireball. Now he was going down.

_Damn it all..._

Down below, Razule and Goomba Prince were confused beyond redemption. Indeed, Ren had hit something, but it resembled a humanoid goldmine.

"Ren," Goomba Prince said, "what did you hit?!"

"D... Don't look at me," Ren said, just as dumbfounded as his friends.

"HIT THE DIRT!!" Razule shrieked. The three jumped out of the way and WHUMP!! The prize had crashed into the ground. The Kroshi bounced off the grass and started rolling around in an endeavor to extinguish the flames. In a few seconds, all of them were out. Now they were just scorch marks on his skin. When he stood up, he was as angry as a demon.

"Alright," he growled, "which one of you hit me with that?!"

"It was Ren!!" Goomba Prince blurted. "HE did it! Kill him, not me!!"

"If you insist," the Kroshi seethed, cracking his knuckles. Ren was infuriated.

"Nice going, blabber-mouth," he growled. The Kroshi was quickly advancing on him and the little Raven was not looking forward to a fight with his threatening man. The golden Yoshi had his fists held up when Razule suddenly dove between the two fighters.

"Hold it, hold it!!" he protested. "We shouldn't be fighting; we should be sharing!"

"Shut up, runt," the Kroshi spat. "Your friend hit me. I aint letting him get away with that!!"

"W-We'll comensate you!" Razule insisted. "Satisfaction guarenteed."

The Kroshi stopped and glared at the Raven-like creature. He looked behind him and saw Ren. Ren stared for a second and he started nodding. Goomba Prince was confused. "Alright, squirt," the Kroshi said, folding his arms. "What can you do for me?"

"I can tell you your fortune..."

The Kroshi cocked his eyebrow at the little man. "My fortune?"

"Trust me!" Razule continued. "I can see any apple for miles!"

The Kroshi heaved a sigh. He could still feel the fire burning. "Alright," he said, "but this better be worth it."

"Oh, it's worth more than a thousand monkeys on a whale made of doughnuts!" The Kroshi stared at him impatiently. Razule laughed nervously, then cleared his throat. "Right then," he said and he closed his eyes. "In your future... I see..."

* * *

But a few miles away from the Boombateers were Xoshi and friends. The five of them were walking down a dirt road, enjoying the nice day and fearing not even the most deliberate of perilous possibilites heading their way. In fact, the quintet was just sharing things between one another. The setting was quite serene. 

"I suppose me and Davey HAVE encountered much since the start of our travels back in our hometown in Grass Land," Chogun admitted. "We've recovered strange stones from Clefts, outlandish clothings from Gulpits... You name it."

"We were almost able to get these two gems from a giant monster that looked like it was made out of blue jelly, but it was too strong," Davey added.

"Ah, yes. There was a green one and a gold one, but... I guess the beast deserved them more than we did."

"Ho, you should have seen the thing me and White Rose took down in the Dry Dry Desert," Xoshi commented. "It was humungous! Do you remember that, White?"

The knight was actually paying little attention. He had his left elbow resting in his right hand. Two of his fingers were strumming the side of his face. _Those two gems,_ he thought. _It couldn't be... The ones from the legend?..._

Xoshi stared at his spacey white-garbed partner. "White? You alive over there?"

"The White Rose, some dignifying responses, if you will," Leif demanded, konking the swordsman on the head with a curled fist. This woke up the wandering knight with a start.

"Ugh... My apologies, Sir Xoshi, but no, I hadn't forgotten of the Pokey. It was a gauntlet of biblical proportions if my memory serves me correctly."

"Yeah, 'biblical proportions' sums it up," Xoshi quipped. "Although, it was really White Rose who did most of the work."

"Of course," Leif agreed. "His eyes possess the glimmer of an experienced warrior..."

The masked knight had quickly become the center of attention, yet his mind was still elsewhere. _I remember hearing a lot of things,_ he speculated. _Now it's as though history is finally coming alive..._

In Xoshi's mind, there was a certain Star Warrior making an observation._You've become quite fluent with the new language,_ he remarked. _Maybe you don't even need me anymore..._

_Well, I guess I have gotten pretty good and-_ Xoshi stopped. _Wait... Come on, I couldn't POSSIBLY not need you anymore! You know so much!_

_Most of what I know isn't that important,_ Beel replied modestly.

_Well... What IS important?_

_Take for instance... the names of the last two people we'll be tracking down and where we can find them..._

_...Yeah?_

_Yes,_ Beel answered. _First off, after our expedition in the Forest of Dheos, we shall seek out Jeremiah Skai. His abode can be found-_

"-GAAHHH!!" Chogun wailed. The others turned their heads toward him.

"What is it?" David asked.

"Some rock," Chogun wheezed, clutching at one of his bug-like feet. "Came out of nowhere and... got my foot..."

The others looked where the bug man had stepped. As a matter of fact, a rock was there; a jagged one with a few drops of blood on it. "Some others are popping up as well," Leif pointed out. The others looked ahead and saw it for themselves. The dirt path and the grassy field surrounding it was now infested with all kinds of jagged rocks popping out of the ground, one after another, like warts.

"I don't like the looks of this," Xoshi fretted.

"Everyone, stand back!!" Leif ordered. The five-some jumped back a few steps and watched this strange phenomenon take place. Gradually, the rocks were getting closer together. They were even getting bigger and causing the ground to shake. All Xoshi and friends could do was watch and wait.

The rising rocks shook everything for a few seconds more. Finally, the show was topped off with a massive explosion of earth. A tremendous boulder bigger than any the travelers may have ever seen shot up from the ground and blocked their path. On top of it was a notably smaller one, but it vaguely resembled a statue of sorts. The group looked on at it. They tried identifying it, but falling bits of dirt were getting in their eyes.

A crack popped open on the figure's chest. Then another, and another. In a matter of seconds, the entire stone figure was completely covered in fractures. Then FOOM!! The thing exploded and the group could finally see who was beneath it. It was a very cocky-looking man they had all met back in Carnival Alley. His spear was there and everything.

"Labyrit!!" Xoshi called out.

"Who?" Chogun asked.

"Yes, kiddies, it's me," the Bandit greeted. "We haven't seen each other in a while, now have we? Tell me: how many dreams have you been shattering while I was gone? Hundreds? Thousands?"

"Just tell us what you want, you weirdo," Xoshi retorted. "We don't exactly have time for you."

"Don't have time, you say?" Labyrit said. "Now, that's not very nice. I went through all this trouble to make this new maze for you..." The brown Bandit picked up his spear and pointed it at the front of the giant rock he was standing on. From there, a gateway made of stone opened up before the group. Each of them were surprised by this ability, Chogun especially.

"A... new maze?" Davey asked.

"Yes, and one more elaborate than you could ever imagine," Labyrit gloated. "Gentlemen, I give you..." He spread his arms out dramatically and yelled it out. "LABYRIT'S ELABORATE LABYRINTH: THE ILLUSTRIOUS ELIMINATOR!!"

Xoshi and friends were shocked. Davey was just muddled. "What is it with this guy and all the tongue-twisters?"

"Your objective is simple," Labyrit elaborated. "You have three hours. You must split into groups of two. Each one is to find a pair of elemental stones, then destroy them with their opposing elements. I know you can do it, because I've been asking around; you all have wands... if not something similar..."

White Rose pulled out his red-tipped wand and looked at it carefully. Then he looked at Xoshi who was just sweating. _I hadn't even considered the possibility of us becoming well-known,_ he thought. _Is this the consequence of seeing the world?_

"But," Davey objected, "there are only five of us! How do we get in groups of two?"

"Oh, that's right," Labyrit said with fake sympathy. "Well, don't worry; I'll go easy on you guys. After all, I _was_ going to make it required that you take out all twelve of the stones, but... I guess just five will be fine."

Davey slowly nodded. Then the Viking of the group stepped forward. "And suppose we find and destroy these five stones," he said, "what shall be our prize?"

"Then you guys get to go on your marry way, and I won't bother you ever again."

White Rose raised an eyebrow at the dubious Bandit. "And if we lose?"

Labyrit pointed his spear at the brown Xoshi. "Then your little friend here will have no choice but to give me back my pendant."

The others looked at Xoshi. The brown Yoshi looked at them back through shifty eyes. "Look," he said to Labyrit, "if you want your pendant back that badly, then I _could_ just-"

"-No," Labyrit spat. "It was your wits that got you that pendant. Now it's your wits that will determine whether or not you deserve to keep it."

Xoshi stared at Labyrit without blinking. He looked away and sighed. "Alright," he conceded. "We win... and you won't bother us ever again?"

"Ever again," Labyrit repeated.

Xoshi nodded. "Alright then," he said. He signaled to the others with his hand. "Come on, guys," he beckoned. "Looks like we don't have much of a choice here..." The others nodded and began to follow their leader. Labyrit watched excitedly as the quintet entered the cave. He rubbed his hands together and chuckled mischievously.

"Little do they realize," he gloated, "there's a reason why they only have THREE hours..."

* * *

It was right in the middle of the ocean. A nice little island full of trees and safe places to hide. Somewhere deep inside this secluded forest was a base; a base with two oddly shaped backdoors. When Swoompster found these things, he couldn't have been any happier. 

The diminutive Swoompire looked around himself in amazement. There were metallic walls, fancy-looking counsels, and all kinds of weird things the man couldn't have ever dreamed of. "Yeah," he breathed, looking around in astonishment. "This place is perfect. It's so quiet and clean."

The small man walked into the middle of the widespread room. He threw down his sack of orbs and withdrew three small ones. One red, one blue, and one yellow. He held them in the palm of his hand. The three things suddenly sprouted pairs of orange wings and sets of wide staring eyeballs. Then they started fluttering around in midair like litle bats.

"Alright, Fangel, Fangie, and Fanget," the Swoompster said to the Fangs. "I want the three of you to remain here and keep on the lookout. I've got some errands to run. But, whatever you do, do NOT touch anything. Alright?" The three bats nodded their little heads in reply. "Good," their master said to them. "I'll be going now. Bye..."

The man ran to the back of the room. He found the two Melon Bug-shaped holes in the wall and slipped through them. Then he spread his wings and flew away. The three little bats that were left behind looked at each other, shifty-eyed. Then they scattered and started flapping around all over the place. They kept ramming their faces into all the buttons on the counsels. Meanwhile, the huge telescope-like device at the center of the room started shining with little lights lining it.

Outside, the humungous lens of this device was glowing. It flickered a bit, and then it focused. Now there was a single bright light glowing in the center. Out of it was bursting a powerful laser. It was aiming at the sky...

* * *

In his lab on the moon, the very dubious Mad Scienstein was toiling away at a new invention of his. It was considerably smaller than the Giga Mole, but it looked equally insteresting. Whatever it was, it appeared to be some small flying device with a bubble dome and rocket propulsion. The man himself was underneath it, fastening another gear on with a wrench. He pulled himself out from underneath the contraption and wiped his brow. 

"Gonna be a while 'til the Giga Moth's completed," Mad Scienstein said exhuastedly. Then he just looked pensive. "Which reminds me... Whatever did happen to those two Crooks I helped earlier? Hopefully, they're not trashing that Giga Mole I gave them. I worked hard on that thing..."

The man mumbled to himself some more and slid back beneath the newer invention. He pulled and twisted at all the gears and gaskets that made the machine tick and he stopped. As he remained perfectly still in the deep shade of his device, he would have sworn he could feel something huge was just miles away from him. It was almost as though his house was really atop a gigantic turtle and he hadn't even realized it.

After contemplating on the matter even further, he came to the conclusion he was NOT imagining things. There were vibrations deep beneath his feet, and it had been a while since anything remotely like this had happened.

Worriedly, the scientist pulled himself back into the open, got up, and sauntered on up to his giant computer built into the wall. He hovered his fingers above the keyboard and began to type up commands. "What is it this time?" the intellectual wondered. "It's not those carrots again, is it?"

A few passwords later, and the answer seemed to be right in front of Mad Scienstein's face. What he got on the screen was a computer generated image of the moon's surface. Originally, the force-field surrounding it looked like a desert full of yellow rocks and craters. Now its material seemed to be slowly transforming into a different substance, something white and reflective. Mad Scienstein watched all this in confusion and astonishment.

"My word," he breathed, scratching his goatee absentmindedly, "what is going on here?..."

* * *

Swoompster had been flying for a while now. The bat-like wings growing out of his back were starting to give him massive pains. He just kept telling himself to keep at it, and he'd be there in no time. Just when the pint-sized Swoompire was about to call it quits, he saw it right there, right before his eyes: Lava Lava Island. "Alright," the criminal dwarf elicited. "Now let's see if this place is as much of a tourist attraction as everyone says..." 

The Swoompire swooped down and hovered above the trees. His wide eyes kept moving back and forth in search of anything that might be round and valuable. So far, nothing seemed to be of interest. All he saw was Yoshies, Ravens, and a whole lot of plants.

"Geez," the Swoompire moped. "I know it's around here somewhere..." Then at last he found it: the horde! "Ho yesss," the little man hissed as he dove in for a closer look. "What have we here?..."

Somewhere deep in the jungle of Lava Lava Island, there was a small opening filled with tall blades of grass and other vegetation. In the middle of some of this shrubbery, there were a few nice shiny things the greedy Swoompster would consider taking for himself. He zipped out from behind the leaves in the air and slowly hovered to the ground.

"Alrighty then..." The small Swoompire ran through the field and pounced. Lo and behold, his mits were able to latch onto something smooth and expensive. Pumped on anticipation, he pulled himself back and took a good look at his find: a big, round, shiny, glass red ball. "So this is the Ultra Stone I've been hearing so much about; the legacy of the Ultra Ravens that fought a great evil long ago. But if one can be found here, then another can be found..."

Excitedly, the Swoompire took another pounce. As luck may have it, again, he landed on another sphere, just like the one before it. "YES!" the avaricious man belted. "Then that means...

"A-HA!!" He found another one. In fact, after running around quite hecticly throughout this field, the tiny man was able to get a hold of quite a few of these orbs. In time, he managed to push them all into a nice pile. He counted them and found 39 could be added to his collection. Yet he looked at this in confusion. "Thirty-nine Ultra Stones?" he asked himself. "Whatever happened to the 40th one?..."

"Is someone there?"

The miniscule Swoompire jolted. He jumped in front of the pile of orbs with his back facing them and protected them with outspread arms. "Who is THAT?!" he snarled. "Out to take my orbs away, eh? Well, we'll see about that..."

The Swoompire reached behind him. He pulled out a golden ball. He released his fingers from it and the thing began to hover and glow between intervals. Swoompster chuckled to himself and glanced at whatever opponent was coming to him. "It's showtime..."

* * *

In a different section of the forest, three other individuals were continuing their march. Two of them were green, and one of them was dark orange. These three guys were Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy. Right now, they were on their second day of trying to find Raphael the Raven. 

His tree was still a ways away, but at least the road there was plenty interesting. In this vibrant place, there were vast stretches of marshes, countless kinds of trees and wildlife, and hordes of spiraling plants. All these things, Fyooshi could remember from that time he trekked through this place with Raphael the Raven. In the meantime, Glishy was continuing with his lessons for Yoshi.

"Those two guys we met earlier," he said, "Ebony and Ivory... They're actually not from around here. They're travelers, just like their parents. Word is, all four of them were from Yoshi's Island, but their children were born elsewhere."

"...'Yoshi's Island'?" Yoshi repeated slowly.

"Yes, though you might be more familiar with the term 'Yo'ster Isle', am I wrong?" Yoshi shook his head. "As I thought..."

_Ebony and Ivory just came at a bad time,_ Fyooshi thought to himself, recalling when the island was attacked by the Koopas one year ago, following the events of the war. _Stuff like this is happening all over the world..._

Glishy scratched his chin and looked squinty-eyed. "Say," he said to Yoshi, "you wouldn't happen to be from that island, would you?"

"Yoshi's Island?" Yoshi asked. Glishy nodded back. "Yes."

"I thought so," the dark orange Yoshi replied. "So," he added, "how'd you get here?"

Yoshi heard what the man said and translated it in his mind. He thought about it, then said, "Ghosts."

Glishy was a tad confused. "Ghosts?" he repeated.

"And thieves," the green Yoshi clarified. Glishy just held his chin and made a humming sound.

_I heard Ebony and Ivory were visiting Ninjaka one day,_ Fyooshi continued to think as he pushed another big leaf out of his way. _The two fled, though. They say the place was-_

-SHHRRIIEEKK!! The three Yoshies all jumped back fearfully. Their path had suddenly been blocked by a group of Hurt Plants, botanical creatures with huge drooling mouths for heads. They were all baring their fangs at the group, dying for some fresh meat to rip into.

_-Attacked,_ Fyooshi thought, finishing his speculation from before. Then he turned his attention towards his partners.

"Okay, guys," Fyooshi said to his companions. "Let's just show these guys what we're made of and get this over with." Yoshi and Glishy nodded. The three Yoshies stretched, put their fists up, and ran forward. For a second time, the trio would prove its strength in battle...

* * *

Not long after entering the strange cave that had been materialized right before them, Xoshi and friends were able to happen upon a familiar sight: a set of six separate doorways lined up before them. Xoshi remembered all this clearly, but this time, there was a subtle difference. Above each portal, there was a pair of symbols, each one a different color, and each one representing a different element. 

The first one had a white sun and a black moon above it. The second, a red flame and a light blue snowflake. The third, a blue teardrop and a yellow lightning bolt. The fourth, a gold star and a green leaf. The fifth, a silver hourglass and a grey explosion mark, and the sixth, an orange hexagon and a purple swirl. The group was quickly able to make its decision.

"Well," Xoshi said, tapping his lower lip, "I guess me and Leif will take the fourth one, Chogun and Davey get the fifth one, and White Rose takes the second one."

"Are you alright with this?" Chogun asked White Rose worriedly. "You'd be heading on in there alone. It could be dangerous!"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," White Rose explained as he began to walk towards the second door. "Besides... I've been through worse situations..."

"Don't worry," Xoshi reassured. "He'll be fine."

"Alright then," Chogun replied.

"Let's get through this with the utmost of haste," Leif stated. "The Star Spirits are depending on us."

Chogun, Davey, and Xoshi nodded. Then the group split up and ran through their two designated doorways, bravely taking Labyrit's challenge...

In White Rose's case, he was running madly through all the stone hallways of this extravagent dungeon. All of them were very oddly-shaped, full of twists and curves that seemed to constantly callenge the man's sanity. No matter what was coming at him, though, he held his ground and continued to navigate this ungodly place.

_In my homeland of Ninjaka,_ the swordsman thought as he spun past another wide curve, _there is a 300-year-old story telling that the nightmares will rise again. It will happen once a certain castle of great power is unveiled. It will happen once the 24 sacred treasures reappear and find new people to wield them... But what are they?..._

The knight began his ascension of a large stone hill built into this unusual maze. He pulled out his Fire Wand and looked at it intently._When I held this thing for the first time, I felt something,_ the swordsman continued to think. _It felt like something shot out from the sky and merged with my body. It was as if the gods themselves were telling me I was meant to wield it..._

White Rose looked up. He saw a wide pit of stone spikes blocking his path. Squinting his eyes a bit, he strained his muscles, ran even faster, and leapt. As anticipated, he soar straight over the danger and landed safely on the other side. _Maybe the others felt the same thing,_ he thought. _And the lot of us... We're destined to find and fight this so-called oncoming evil... And the legends say it'll be a dark day once someone finds that all-powerful castle... But what does it all mean?..._

Now the knight was sprinting his way into an enormous circular room in the labyrinth. He shook his head, feeling it becoming heavy with worries and uncertainties. _Whatever the case,_ he decided, _when the time comes, all will become clear. And until then, we simply must fight for survival..._

The white-garbed traveler stopped in his tracks. He looked around himself, sensing something. His suspicions became clear once he noticed more things coming out of the ground, just as they did outside. They were made of stone, but they were all taking on more complicated shapes. In a matter of seconds, the knight was surrounded by a group of angry-looking stone Bandits. When White Rose saw this, he merely tightened his grip on his wand, making its red jewel start to glow brightly.

"Don't try to tangle with fate," White Rose growled. "You will only shorten your lifespan..." The Bandits then started leaping through the air, aiming their fists and feet for the knight's head, but he was faster. Swiftly, he spun around, blasting at the enemy with the power of his wand. Now they had a tsunami of raging flames to deal with, and this man in white was the master-mind of it all...

In a different part of the cave, Xoshi and Leif's incessant exploration of the place had led them to a particularly interesting room. This one was a long hallway with a wall at the end of it, and on that wall was a large symbol etched into the rock. It was circular and inside it was a large star made of four big triangles. At the tip of each point was a jewel embedded into the wall. Each one was a different color, one for each of the twelve elements. Seven of them were glowing.

"So once all five of the stones are destroyed, this thing will... activate," Leif said as he observed the symbol.

"Yeah, but then what?" Xoshi asked.

"Then you have to stab the middle of it with your pendant..."

Xoshi and Leif turned around. In the doorway of the room, they found their way had been blocked by a peculiar group of stone Bandits. The one in the middle folded his arms and raised one eyebrow at the pair of heroes.

"Come get me if you want more information," the Bandit clarified, "otherwise, you may never find your way out of this tunnel..."

Xoshi stared inquisitively at the Bandit. He reached beneath his saddle and pulled out the Penta Pendant he won back in Carnival Alley. "You know how to use this thing?" he asked.

The Bandit didn't answer. Instead, he snapped his fingers. After that, the two Bandits behind him ran forward and tackled Xoshi and Leif. Now the four were wrestling with each other on the ground. Slowly, the two good guys fixed themselves into the right positions and they blasted the two Bandits off of them. The duo of enemies flew back and crashed into a wall. Xoshi put his foot down and Leif put his mace down. "You're serious?" the Viking asked.

Again, the head Bandit didn't say anything. He snapped his fingers again and the other two Bandits sprang back to life. Both were trying to break the limbs of the two travelers. "Alright fine," Xoshi growled as he punted his Bandit right in the jaw. "If you want a fight, you're getting one..."

Meanwhile, Chogun and Davey had found themselves before another trio of doorways. Davey turned towards his bug-like friend. "Alright, which one now?" he asked.

Chogun placed two fingers against his forehead and thought for a moment. "That one," he said, pointing to the one on the right.

"But that's the third time in a row," Davey objected. "Are you sure-"

"-If you wanna take the left one or the middle one, be my guest," Chogun said, and he began to stride towards the one on the right. Davey stood thinking for a second. Then he shrugged his shoulders and went after his partner. For them, at least, things were looking good...

Another burnt Bandit fell to the ground. That was the tenth one by White Rose's count. He knew one was left, yet he had put away his wand. When the eleventh enemy saw this, he smirked and leapt out of nowhere with his legs spinning wildly. The knight had foreseen this. SHINGG!! He stood at the center of the room with his sword in hand. Behind him, both the Bandit's head and body had fallen to the ground. Now none were left.

Then another strange occurrence came. White Rose watched inquisitively as all the stone Bandits sank back into the ground as though it were water. Once this backwards exit of theirs was complete, the swordsman was alone again and he could continue his mission.

_I can't die just yet,_ he thought as he walked towards the next door. _There are too many things I have not yet seen..._

BAM!!! Xoshi and Leif leapt back from the explosions from their elemental spells. The cocky Bandit in the doorway looked on emotionlessly at the way his two cronies had been beaten. One of them was lying unconscious in a big, steaming, star-shaped crater. The other was suffocating beneath the tangles of a large bush of thorny vines. Now that these two were gone, Xoshi pointed his fist at the leader, and Leif pointed his wand at him. The leader scoffed.

"You have won," he said, "so I'll tell you this: stab the emblem, then pray to the Star Spirits. They are your guides, after all..."

Leif stared at the intelligent Bandit. He slowly lowered his wand. "Alright," he replied quietly.

"Wait a minute," Xoshi stated. "You gotta tell us: who exactly are you? Do you really work for Labyrit?"

The leader Bandit stared at Xoshi uninterestedly. "All you need to know is how to get out of here," he said, "and now you know that." The Bandit folded his arms and began to sink into the ground. His two downed cronies were doing so as well. "Goodbye..."

Xoshi made a choking sound and took a step forward as if to try and stop the Bandit from leaving, but it was too late. All three of the guys were gone. Now he and the Viking were on their own.

"Come on, Xoshi," Leif said, beginning to walk towards the exit. "We have to find that stone that Labyrit spoke of..."

Xoshi stood in the room and thought for a moment. Then he nodded and began to walk after his partner. He made special note to remain extra cautious of this place from here on out...

_I don't know what that Labyrit is planning,_ he thought, _but he doesn't have to go THIS far..._

* * *

Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy rushed towards their botanical nemeses with their fists clenched and their adrenaline flowing. In a flash, the two parties had exploded into a massive fury of Yoshi and Hurt Plant war. Yoshi kicked one of the Hurt Plants square in the jaw. Its head flew off and knocked one out behind it, having landed right on its head like a blunt cannonball. Yoshi gave out a yelp suddenly feeling the seering fangs of one of the Hurt Plants biting right into his leg. He tried shaking the fiend off, but the hold it had was unwavering. Then Glishy flew out of nowhere and flattened the Hurt Plant into the dirt with a ground pound. The two Yoshies nodded to one another and returned to their respective battles. 

Fyooshi looked around himself with sweat on his brow. He could see all those Hurt Plants growling at him with drool continuously sliding off of their fangs. The once magenta Yoshi was starting to have second thoughts about this. He wondered if there was a better way than to just throw his life away to these carnivorous plants. Then he saw a few of the green predators advancing towards him, seemingly with death written all over them. Fyooshi jolted, but then he realiazed something.

_I'm the new leader,_ he thought, swallowing his fears and doubts. _I have to prove that this is nothing!_

Bravely, the noble dinosaur shot his tongue out at the forthcoming Hurt Plant. He gulped it down, turned it into an egg, and sent it flying at the next pest coming for him. When his eyes caught sight of one coming from the side, he quickly spun around and stomped on the thing repeatedly until it was a mess of flattened leaves smushed into the ground.

The dutiful reptile then heard the sound of more snarling and gnashing teeth. He turned around and saw an entire other mess of fanged plants wanting a piece of him. Fyooshi's face was covered in sweat, but his fists remained clenched tight.

_Noshi,_ he thought as he boldly rushed towards the new battalion of Hurt Plants. _I will carry your will on for you. Watch me!..._

Yoshi and Glishy held their backs to each other. The next wave of Hurt Plants was about to be upon them. Frightening as they were, to the two Yoshies, this was just a flock of insects. The two tightened their fists and threw themselves upon the meddlesome creatures. Yoshi punted one and made it splatter against a tree. Glishy swung his tail around and took down three more in an instant. Then the two started running around, slurping up one Hurt Plant after another until all that was left of them was a bunch of eggs.

BAM!! The next thing Yoshi and Glishy knew, Fyooshi was on his back, skidding on the ground between them. When they looked up, they saw some leaves fluttering to the ground. Several Hurt Plants had been taken down, but many others still remained. The green Yoshi and the dark orange Yoshi nodded to each other. They placed their eggs into their arms and let them fly.

In an instant, the sky above the Hurt Plants had been transformed into a barrage of these spotted projectiles. The little monsters said their prayers and felt the pain being hammered into their roots and their heads relentlessly. The storm carried on for what felt like one entire agonizing decade. When the assault was over, none of the Hurt Plants were still there. Victory belonged to the Yoshies.

Fyooshi sat up and got a good look at the handiwork of his two companions. Immediately, he realized how beneficial it was to have such formidable allies. He even started wondering how he was to keep up with guys like this...

SHHRRIIEEKK!! All three of the Yoshies jumped up about ten feet. They spun around and saw one last Hurt Plant remained. The thing was foaming at the mouth and staring down Fyooshi's jugular vein. Yoshi and Glishy were about to pounce on this last enemy, but Fyooshi waved them down. The two companions stepped back.

Fyooshi stared at the final obstacle. It was charging towards him like a shark. The newly appointed leader gathered his wits and flexed his muscles. _No fear,_ he thought, and he sprang high up into the air. The Hurt Plant below came to an abrupt stop and looked around in confusion. Then it noticed it was trapped in a shadow bigger than its own body and gulped. The rest happened in two seconds.

SPLAT!! The Hurt Plant was no more. Fyooshi's ground pound worked like a charm. He got up and brushed the dust off of himself. Yoshi and Glishy ran up to him and started patting him on the back and shaking his hand.

"Good job, Fyooshi," Glishy said. "Now the entire jungle knows not to mess with us."

"Aw, it was nothing," Fyooshi replied, blushing.

"Right," Glishy said. The group reformed and they pointed themselves back in the direction of the designated area. "Raphael's just ahead. He's GOTTA be."

"Yeah..."

The three Yoshies returned to their journey. Yoshi was in the back, watching Fyooshi in interest. _It's funny,_ he thought. _He reminds me of me when my dad was teaching me how to fight..._

* * *

Swoompster stood dead in his tracks. He thought he could take this new enemy on simply by jumping him when he least suspected it, but he didn't expect the opponent to be so... huge. He was at least ten times his own size, and he had a very deep-pitched voice to top it all off. 

"Well?" Raphael stated. "I asked you a question: who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I'm..." Swoompster's knees were shaking. His mind was racing frantically. In the midst of his eratic thoughts, very little was making sense, but he was able to catch on to one thing: maybe now's not the time. "The name's Swoompster, Swoompire of Greed!!" the little man finally declared. "And you've been had!!"

Raphael stared at the man inquisitively. "I beg your pardon?"

"PSYCHE!" Swoompster quickly turned around, dove into the grass, and commenced shoveling as many Ultra Stones into his arms as possible. Then the Swoompire spread his bat-like wings and took flight, cackling wildly. Some of the stones were falling from his arms, but the Swoompire seemed too delirious to care. Raphael watched confusedly as this unexplained stranger slowly disappeared.

"Odd fellow," he remarked. Then he started walking towards whatever it was the man was in such a rush to get a hold of. The giant Raven looked at them in awe and bewilderment. "Impossible," he whispered. "It couldn't be... Ultra Stones??"

The massive bird picked up one of the stones and stared deeply into its lustrous red being. "All this time I thought the family's Ultra Stone was the only one in existence. I had heard rumors that several more were hidden somewhere in the Jade Jungle. I just didn't want to believe so many dangerous things could be lying around..."

Raphael thought deeply for a moment. Images of numerous Ravens fighting viciously with something great began to flow into his mind. The female one in the lead was just starting to come into focus when the enormous foul suddenly came out of his trance. He heard the rustling of leaves behind him. He turned around and saw three figures walking between the trees. It was none other than the three Yoshies he spoke with the last time he was in the village: Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy.

"Ah! What a pleasant surprise!" Raphael said. He walked towards the group and greeted them. "Friends, what brings you here?"

"Oh, well, we were kind of wondering the same thing," Fyooshi answered. "We heard something going on over here, and we decided to check it out."

"Ah, that," Raphael elicited. "A strange little man was just here a second ago. I think he was trying to steal something."

"What was it?" Glishy asked.

Raphael walked towards the Ultra Stones. Yoshi, Fyooshi, and Glishy followed him. "These," the Raven pointed out. Fyooshi and Glishy were mystified. Yoshi was confused.

"Orbs?" the green Yo'ster said.

"Not just any orbs," Glishy explained. "Ultra Stones. They say they're all that's left of the Ultra Ravens, the heroes of this island."

"They faced a terrifying conqueror, then had their spirits sealed within these," Raphael added. "In theory, great power can be extracted from them if used properly. But the fact so many of them were just lying here..." Raphael shook his head, still feeling it heavy with ramifications.

"Raphael," Fyooshi spoke, "I thought the one you had was the only one. Your family had it for generations."

"I did, too," the bird replied. "Supposedly, me, my brother, and our mother, Ramona, are all descendants of the leader of that group, Rowena. The orb we had originally belonged to her. Now I find several more just like it..."

The group had become wrapped up in the mystery of these orbs. Fyooshi was feeling himself drifting further and further into it. Then he woke up and realized something. "Oh yeah, Raphael," he said.

"Yes?"

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you. See, while you were away, a giant Melon Bug came out of nowhere and started attacking the village. Then-"

"-A Melon Bug, you say?" Raphael interrupted, looking pensive. "Hmm... I hope that doesn't mean..."

"Look, I don't know what you're thinking, but that's not the part that bothers me," Fyooshi elaborated.

"Oh yes, of course..." Raphael moved back towards the Ultra Stones and picked a few of them up. "Could you help me with these? We shall move them to my room. We'll be more comfortable there."

"Ah, good idea," Glishy quipped, and he began helping Raphael with the legendary spheres. Yoshi was doing this as well. Fyooshi observed this for a few seconds, then shrugged his shoulders. He grabbed the last of the balls and followed his friends. For now, he reasoned they'd be dealing with this smaller matter, but he knew all his questions would be answered later. The group of four disappeared into the trees with the fabled Ultra Stones...

* * *

Deep inside the maze, two men had been running for what felt like a very long time. At last, their run of hallways and doors had led them to the very room they had been looking for. It was a small place and sticking out of the far wall was a small ledge with two large dimples in it like a pair of bowls. Each one had a large irregular-shaped rock, similar to the Sun Stones that had been lighting their path. The one in front of Chogun was green and had a mild glow to it. Davey's was a shade coming somewhere between yellow and orange. It, too, had a radiant glow to it. 

"So these are the stones Labyrit wanted us to get," Chogun mused. He raised his Energy Wand and waved it a little. "So all we have to do is blast them with our wands, right?"

"If I recall correctly," Davey said, scratching his chin, "while light is the opposite of shadow, fire of ice, water of lightning, and earth of wind, plant's would be energy, and star's would be time." The boy raised his Time Wand and started making its gem glow. Chogun nodded.

"Then we're on the right track," he added. The two partners pointed their mystical weapons at the rocks and concentrated. Then BAMM!! Both rocks exploded. In their wake were little pebbles and flames. Chogun's were grey and Davey's were purple. The two felt satisfied and they put their wands away.

SHHEEOOoommm... The two treasure-hunters looked around. The sound they just heard was like a machine powering down. It confused Davey, but Chogun had a hunch.

"That room we found earlier," the bug man said. "Let's check it out!"

"Right." The duo ran out of the room. All the while, Davey made sure to stick close to his friend. He knew better than anyone why this was such a good idea.

_I'll bet the others haven't even found the stones yet,_ the young treasure-hunter thought as he and Chogun rounded another corner...

As a matter of fact, the other three members of the group really were still struggling to work their ways through this stone dungeon. White Rose was concentrating on it as hard as ever, but Xoshi's mind was elsewhere. As he continued to follow Leif's lead, he couldn't help but notice something in this place he found to be a very familiar sight: Sun Stones, keeping every inch of the way in this realm illuminated.

_That reminds me,_ the brown Yoshi thought, striking up another conversation between him and the Star Warrior. _You said earlier that Sun Stones can only be created by people with earth-elemental powers... Does Labyrit really have them?_

_He actually possesses all twelve of the powers,_ Beel replied. Xoshi's eyes widened.

_What?!_ he blurted. _How's that possible??_

_Well... He may look like an ordinary Bandit, but he's actually much more than that. He's a demi-god._

Xoshi's eyelids spread apart even further. His eyeballs had even become in danger of popping right out of his head. _H... He..._ the Yoshi stammered. _He's a WHAT?_

_A demi-god. In short, like a god, but not quite._

_You know,_ Xoshi commented, _I had heard of something called the Twelve Gods of Chaos. He's not related to them... is he?_

_Well, just so you know, they're not the only ones in history to have ever achieved such a rank. In fact, some say there are actually about a hundred others who have pulled it off._

_W... Wow..._

_Believe it or not, it's not that high a number,_ Beel clarified. _Becoming a god is extremely hard to do. Thousands have died trying to do it... or worse..._

Xoshi and Leif stopped in front of a pair of doorways. The two stared at the two options before them, then agreed to take the one on the right. Xoshi asked Beel another question. _So... How exactly do you become a god?_

_Through a very complicated process called absorption,_ Beel elaborated. _Becoming a god is actually the same thing as becoming a one man army of 120. Anything below about 80 of that is considered to be of demi-god status._

_So Labyrit's only like the one man army of 50?_

_Something like that,_ Beel answered. Then he seemed to take the discussion in a bit of a different direction. _Xoshi, do you know what a 'forbidden technique' is?_

_Yeah... Something someone can only use two times, right?_

_Exactly. Do you know why that is?_

_Uh... I don't know._

_It's because using a forbidden technique is the same thing as transforming 50 years of your life force into an extremely powerful spell. In other words, both times you use it, you shorten the amount of years you have left to live by a significant amount. And since people tend to only live up to about a hundred, the second time is often when they die._

_Oh... But what does this have to do with becoming a god?_

_Absorption is when you take someone and make their body, their consciousness, their powers... everything... and make it a part of your own. You also increase your own lifespan since you're adding theirs to yours. Gods are people who have done this multiple times. And with that many life expectancies at your command..._

Xoshi placed a hand against the side of his face in shock. _Whoa..._

_That's right,_ Beel said. _You become a being who can live for an indefinitely long time. You can also cast these spells any number of times you want..._

_Oh man,_ Xoshi gasped. He and Leif ran down another hall and took a left turn._Wait,_ the Yoshi thought. _Wouldn't that mean you can kill a god by just... making them use the forbidden technique over and over again?_

_That's one theory,_ Beel stated, _but it's actually not a tactic that scares them. For every forbidden technique they use, they can just absorb another person. For them, it's no difficult task as they've done it dozens of times before. Also, each time they use the technique, it's only a few years they lose. The memories and abilities of the people they absorbed... they remain. So, you see, there are literally thousands of ways in which gods are incredibly dangerous beings._

_Hmm,_ Xoshi thought. _And Labyrit... He's absorbed people of all twelve of the elements?_

_Exactly,_ the spirit said. _Thankfully, though, he only uses them for mazes like these..._

In another section of the labyrinth, White Rose had found the thing he was looking for: a big, light blue stone on a ledge coming out of the wall. There were tiny broken pebbles of some rock that was red and pink next to it, but the knight could tell it was ultimately of no importance. He drew out his Fire Wand and pointed it at the stone that remained.

_Here goes,_ he thought. BAM!! Red flames shattered the rock, and the swordsman could hear a strange noise in background. Thinking of a certain room he had found earlier, he began to head back...

BAM!! Two more rocks were taken down. Xoshi and Leif watched contentedly as the two became silver pebbles with gold flames and grey pebbles with a mess of thorns growing around them. When the two heard the strange noise, they nodded to each other and ran off. Perhaps now the intricate maze would unfold and have the group freed...

Meanwhile, outside the maze, Labryit was standing in the middle of a vast stone balcony sticking out from behind the stone structure. He smiled deviously and tapped the ground with his spear. Before him were six emblems of the twelve elements engraved in the wall. He snickered to himself, picturing the progress of the five people he captured. "One more hour, cretins," he said to himself. "Then we'll see what you think of my elaborate labyrinth..."

* * *

The Kroshi stared at Razule very fixedly. The Raven-like creature looked very confident. Ren looked bored as usual, and Goomba Prince looked a bit frightened. "So that's it?" the golden Yoshi asked. "That's what my future has in store for me?" 

"You know it like a xylophone on an airplane!" Razule replied.

The Kroshi's lips were still tightly nit. He stared at Razule some more. Then he glanced at his two companions in turn. "Fine," the Kroshi said. "But if that time comes and nothing happens, I'll kill you. THEN we'll be even."

"Sure thing!" Razule said. The Kroshi gave him one last glare. Then he rocketed into the air and began flipping off towards a new destination. Razule watched him with great concentration. Once the strange golden man was gone, he heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Thank noodles!!" he said. "That was scary!!"

"Yeah, well," Ren piped up. "We should be going now. Maybe those two people we're waiting for are at the fortress now."

"Ah... Capital idea, Renny Boy..."

Now the Three Boombateers were back on the road. The Forest of Dheos was gradually fading away behind them. Their business there may have been officially done, but something was still bothering Goomba Prince to a tremendous degree. "Hey, Ren," he whispered. "Is Razule really right? Will his prediction come true?"

"Of course it will," the greedy Raven stated. "You should know... Both he and his illegitimate mother are descendants of one of the greatest psychics of all time..."

* * *

Chogun and Davey had found the room. In front of them was one of the emblems of the twelve elements. This time, all twelve of its gems had lit up. Surely this spelled good news, but, other than that, the pair of travelers were finding themselves at a complete loss as to what it was they were to do now. 

"That blasted Labyrit," Chogun cursed. "Is this another one of his tricks?"

"Well, we can't give up just yet," Davey added. "We have at least a half-hour left. Shall we search for clues until then?"

"No," Chogun decided firmly. "I sense we'll only be getting ourselves in even deeper if we leave this point..."

White Rose grunted harshly as he tripped over something. Prying himself off the ground, he looked behind him. What he saw was undeniably a strange sight: there were rocks growing out of all the walls, floors, and ceilings behind him. Slowly, they were connecting with each other and forming bigger, more solid rocks. His paths were disappearing one by one.

_That Labyrit,_ he thought darkly as he continued to run through the passages. _He didn't hold back when he made this place..._

At that moment, Xoshi and Leif themselves were finally before that special emblem once more. The brown dinosaur could faintly tell what was coming next. It was making his heart beat faster and his bones starting to tremble. He swallowed deeply feeling anticipation tearing away at his mind.

"Ah, yes," Leif said proudly. "Just what we've been looking for. Xoshi, I'll need that pendant of yours. I believe I've dealt with things like this before..."

Xoshi just held his breath. His fingers twitched uneasily by his side._Xoshi, what's wrong?_ Beel asked.

_I tried not to think about it,_ the young Yoshi said, _but it's been bothering me ever since me and Leif paired up. This place... it's the one from the dream, isn't it?_

_Well... It could be..._

_Labryit's on the other side of that wall,_ Xoshi explained fearfully. _If what you said about him is true... I'm no match for him. I could even die._

_Well..._

"Xoshi?"

The Yo'ster snapped out of his trance. He quickly whipped the pendant out from underneath his saddle and jammed it into the Viking's hand.

"Thank you. Now stand back!!" Xoshi shifted a few feet away from his Marinotropolan companion. The Viking stood a few feet in front of the center of the emblem, held the pendant out before it in his right hand, and closed his eyes. "Hear me great Star Spirits," he prayed, "lend me your power! Vanquish the evil that stands before us..."

Xoshi watched all this uneasily. Both the pendant and the lines in the emblem were beginning to shine with an eerie green light. Leif could see it through his eyelids. Realizing what he had to do, he approached the symbol on the wall and lifted the pendant up. He stabbed the center of the seal with the small trinket and stood back. He and Xoshi watched in amazement as each of the stones in the emblem took turns shining even brighter. Then beams of light started shooting out from cracks in the lines. The two travelers shielded their eyes. Then they could feel a deep rumbling beneath their feet as if the earth was splitting open. Xoshi's heartbeat was pumping eratically. He didn't know what to expect.

_I don't know what to tell you, Xoshi,_ Beel said, _other than just... brace yourself..._

_Alright..._

FWOOSH!! A huge beam of light shot out at the duo, but they remained unharmed. Sensing no danger, the two put their arms down and blinked their eyes open. Now they could see that the emblem had split open like a double-door. Beyond it was nothing more than a stone balcony.

Xoshi picked his pendant back up. The two of him and Leif walked through the door and onto the balcony. They found themselves wandering around on it in confusion. "Is this it?" Xoshi asked. "Do we wi-"

"Xoshi! Look!!" Leif pointed ahead of them. As it turned out, Labyrit was here, but he was all covered in bruises. He was lying on the ground, barely able to move. The culprit was standing beside him with his back turned towards the heroes. Labyrit's spear was in his hands.

Xoshi looked on at the intruder. Again, he could feel terror clutching at his throat. At first, he was afraid of what Labryit was capable of. But who was this stranger that had defeated him with such ease?

"Who are you?" the brown Yo'ster called out. "What are you doing here?"

The stranger turned around. It was a golden Yoshi covered in spikes and jewelry. He stared Xoshi deeply into his eyes. It was almost as if he was telepathic. Xoshi could feel chills going up his spine. "Xoshi, right?" the Yoshi said.

"Y-Yes," Xoshi said slowly.

"I'm the Kroshi... and I've gotta message for you..."

Xoshi stared determinedly at the Kroshi. "Yes?"

The Kroshi closed his eyes. He bobbed his head up and down in thought and tapped the back of his head with the spear's dull end. At last, he opened his eyes. "In 24 hours... one of us will be dead." Suddenly, Xoshi could feel every cell in his body becoming frozen solid. The Kroshi laughed when he saw this. "Excited, huh?" he remarked. "Well, it's not gonna be me... I'm powerful..."

"How dare you say that?!"

Xoshi, Leif, and the Kroshi turned their heads. Chogun--along with Davey and White Rose--had run onto the balcony as well. Two of the other emblems here had opened up for them.

"Xoshi is a great man," Chogun declared. "How do you know he'll go down so easily?!"

The Kroshi scoffed. "You don't know me, either," he retorted. "I can tell with just a glance I'm beyond his level... I'm a god..." Xoshi and his four friends immediately became silent. The Kroshi laughed some more. "Yeah, and on top of that, I've got this magic spear, so if any of you want to take me on, you're gonna have to cross..."

The Yoshi lifted up the spear and jammed it into the ground. BBOOOMM!! The five heroes leapt back. The entire balcony had been split in two by some strange earthquake. The half that the Kroshi was on fell to the ground. Labyrit's unconscious body had rolled right off of it, but the Kroshi still stood firmly atop it. The five friends could feel even more distanced from him.

"...This line..."

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!"

The six people on the two balconies looked up. Two more unexpected guests had arrived, via broomsticks. Kammelina and Kammeo had returned with a vengeance.

"Kroshi, we've had it up to here with you," Kammelina threatened. "We summoned you. It's your duty to take down those aliens whether you want to or not!!"

"Aliens?" Davey repeated quietly.

In response to the witches, the Kroshi just calmly looked at something to his right with his eyes. He put his gaze back on them. "Well," he said slowly, "you can nag all you want, but... I'm out of here. Angel Mountain awaits!"

"WAIT!!" Kammelina blurted, but it was too late. Like a shooting star, the golden Yoshi was off again. Kammelina started snarling loudly, clenching both her teeth and her fists. "That windbag!! Where does he get such arrogance?!"

"Um, sister," Kammeo piped up.

"What is it, Kammeo?! Can't you see I'm busy drowning in my rage here?!"

WHAM!!! The elder witch didn't see it coming. Her skull had been bashed in and she was out like a light. As limp as a rag doll, she flopped onto the broken ledge unconscious. Leif landed right behind her, proudly holding a bloody mace on his left shoulder.

"I told you," he exclaimed, "they don't call me Leif Erripipe the witch-hunter for nothing!!" Defiantly, the muscular Viking held his mace up high and wound it up for the final blow.

"NOOOO!!!" Kammeo screamed. BAASHH!! A seismic explosion of broken rocks ensued. Leif had missed. The unconscious Kammelina and her broomstick were now in the hands of her younger sister. Leif glared at them spitefully. "Glare all you want, witch-hunter," Kammeo spat. "We're outta here!!

True to her word, the young Magikoopa zipped off like an overgrown fly. Leif squinted his eyes in hatred at them. Once they were gone, he closed his eyes, hung his head, and sighed.

Xoshi watched this powerful comrade of his worriedly. White Rose slowly walked up to his reptilian friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Sir Xoshi," he said. "I know that what that fortuneteller said is haunting you, but we've been through worse things than this. We won't let you die, even if it kills us."

"No," Xoshi replied, calmly taking the knight's hand off his shoulder. "I'm not the only one who's feeling desperate right now..." The Yoshi walked away from the silenced group and up to the edge of the balcony. He jumped off of the thing and flutter-kicked his way onto the giant broken rock. He approached his Viking friend and put a hand on his arm. "Hey, don't sweat it," he said. "That Yoshi said he was going after Angel Mountain, right? Well, after our business here in the Forest of Dheos, that's where we're headed. Anywhere the Kroshi is, those witches will be, right?"

Leif picked his head up slightly and looked Xoshi in the eyes. "I don't know how you know all this," he said quietly, "but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's the fact the Star Spirits really did mean for us to be in this together..."

Xoshi smiled and slapped the man on the back. "That's right," he said. "We gotta remember: the Star Spirits are counting on us!"

Chogun, Davey, and White Rose watched this in high spirits. This had been a very trying experience for all of them and the sun was starting to set, but it had become clear that nothing would ever be impossible for them as long as they had the will power. All five of the friends felt empowered... But something felt amiss to Chogun...

"Wait a minute," the transformed man interjected, "what about Labyrit? Do we get to keep the pendant, or not?"

The group just looked at the downed Bandit and the stars above his head. Whatever he was, right now, he was a pitiful sight. "Aw, let's just leave him," Xoshi decided. "The guy's a jerk anyway..." The others nodded. Then the group proceded in climbing down from the disorienting maze and their venture into the woods could begin at last. They had all worked extremely hard for this moment. Now the real action could begin...


	43. Chapter 42, Part 2 of 2

**Chapter 42, Part 2 of 2**  
Deep down underground, a trio of thieves were walking through the hallways of a dank cave. It was definitely a foreboding place, but it took more than that to get the group down. "So you're a Kremling?" Crookie asked.

"Yes," Crania replied. "You can only imagine the stigma that comes from being one."

"Aw, come on," Sackle threw in. "You think you got it bad? We're Crooks. Day in and day out, we gotta deal with the fact that, when people see us, they automatically assume we're with Sparva and we're gonna do her bidding for her, or something."

"Really?" Crania said. "Are you sure people don't think ill of you just because you're always stealing things?"

"Yeah, and what about that Mad Scienstein guy we met, boss?" Crookie added. "He didn't mind us too much."

"The world hates us, and you know it," Sackle responded. "That's why me and Blifit became thieves; the world was obviously not going to accept us either way."

"Oh?" Crania said. "Was she from another race with a bad reputation?"

"She was an 8-Bit, so yeah," Sackle explained. "People always thought we made an interesting couple; a spawn of Sparva with a spawn of Tondariya. Oh, the craziness."

"Um," Crania paused, "what do you mean?"

"Come on, you know... Back in the day, Tondariya and Sparva were archrivals with each other. They hated each other. You didn't know that?"

"Well, you know," Crania answered. "I was never big on history, so..."

"Psh! Women..."

A temple bulged in the side of Crania's head. She turned menacingly towards the blue thief. "What was that?"

"I said you're a woman, so-"

"-You know what? That reminds me," Crookie blurted out, desperate to stop the fight. "Speaking of Tondariya, boss, why don't you tell us about the time you personally met her?"

Crania cocked her eyebrow at the head thief. "You met her?" she said. "But... she's dead."

"No crap, she's dead," Sackle concurred, "but I met her. I kid you not."

"Get out."

"No, see, it all happened at the end of the War of the Shy Gang... When that big explosion hit, I was sent flying. Then I got sucked into this wormhole, I think."

"...What?"

"I'm not joking here. I was flying through this vortex... and then I land in this cornfield. I was like, 'What the hell?!' I look around, and when I find some people, I ask'em what's going on. Turns out, I was in the Mushroom Kingdom and the war was over. But what happened to Blifit? Rumor has it, she's dead. I don't believe it. I think she's probably back in her lair right now, looking at all the junk she's collected. So I catch the next plane to the Clover Kingdom. Then you know what happens?"

"What?" Crania asked, playing along.

"Right when the plane is taking off, this... trumpet thing opens up in midair and sucks the plane in. The next thing we know, me and all the passengers are in this world made out of brass. The freakiest thing, I tell ya.

"We get out and we're greeted by this man with a spear. He tells us he's the Shy King and our vessel's been added to Tondariya's collection. We think this is some cruel joke, but he tells us there's a way for us to go back to the real world: all we have to do is play some guy named Zeerko in a game of laser tag, or something, but we have to make sure not to fall off the cliff, or there's no telling what'll happen.

"We're given all these vests and laser pistols, and the game begins. We're sent running loose in this weird maze that looks like it's made out of brass instruments, or something, and all hell breaks loose. We keep trying to track down this Zeerko guy, but he's freakishly good. He just keeps picking off all the players, one by one. Before I know it, I'm the only one left, so when I find I'm hiding in some corner waiting for this nutcase I have no chance against to hunt me down like the dog I am, do I brave up and take the weirdo head-on? Hell no, I've got better ways to throw my life away. I run like crazy and jump off the cliff.

"Then what happens? Another trumpet sucks me up. I'm transported somewhere else. I land right next to Crookie here, and he's got problems of his own."

"Oh yeah, I remember Crookie telling me about that," Crania commented.

"Yeah," Crookie commented. "We got a lot of fond memories..."

Suddenly, the group stopped dead in their tracks. All three of them could hear it: the sound of a loud ghastly moaning echoing through the halls of the cave. There was only one person this tormented voice could belong to...

"Alright, guys," Sackle said, "we're gonna run into that room up there, and we're gonna have us a little run-in with our old friend Blifit. Just remember, she's dead, and she's not too happy about it, so keep on your toes."

"Right," Crookie and Crania said simultaneously.

"Good kids," Sackle responded. "Now let's move out!!"

The trio of thieves sped off. It wouldn't be long until they settled this with the angry, vengeful Blifit...

* * *

It was getting dark out. Xoshi and friends had gotten themselves a ways into the forest, but nothing had happened. The group decided they were just going to have to double their efforts. 

"How about we split up?" Xoshi said. "If it's been a long time and we still haven't found him, we'll just meet back here..." Xoshi tapped the ground with his foot. In front of where he tapped it was a small sledgehammer lying in the dark green grass. "Are we all clear on that?"

"Yes," said the other four.

"Alright then," said the brown Yoshi. "Let's do this!" Just like that, the five of them were off. With this new clique now traversing the forest, the entire place had become a time-bomb waiting to go off...

* * *

The moment came. Four old friends had finally come back to the room. Everything was still there, just as it had been when this all began. The piles of broken machines, the strewn about screws, and even the wrecked Giga Mole. The three thieves were having deja vu just by looking at it. To top it all off, there was Blifit floating in the center of this place. The ghostly woman was drooling puddles of a thick blue liquid. 

"You cretins," she snarled. "Who gave you permission to escape?!"

"Look, Blifit," Sackle said as he stepped forward. "I don't know what happened when you died, but that's no excuse to be hanging around here for eternity, capturing whatever random people you can find."

"Have you ever died?!" Blifit asked.

"Well," Sackle said slowly, "no, but how can you say this is what you really want? Are you really just gonna stew down here being mad for the rest of eternity?"

"I'm dead," Blifit rasped, holding her hands out like claws. "I can do whatever I want!!" Now the woman was starting to transform. She grew larger and more muscular, looking more ghastly by the second. Once the spell was complete, she looked like an overgrown, floating, transparent hunchback in a blue robe. Crookie and Crania were acting extremely cautious.

"Alright, Blifit," Sackle sighed. He reached behind himself and pulled out eight knives, four for each hand. "Looks like I'm gonna have to get this into your head the hard way..."

"You will never escape from here," Blifit growled in a now deeper-pitched voice. She raised two shaking fists high up into the air. "NEVER!!" BOOM!! The fists came down like two seismic flails. The three thieves jumped back. It had only been a few minutes, and already they were fighting for their lives. With this monstrous woman right before them, they had no choice but to unsheathe their weapons and leap into the fray...

* * *

Back in the Forest of Dheos, Xoshi and friends could tell the sky above them was only getting increasingly dark. This search had gone on for some time, yet all five of them were turning up emptyhanded. It was quickly turning into a hopeless situation for the group. 

_In all honesty,_ Chogun thought as he emerged from a massive nest of some thick, scraggly bushes, _I'm not sure if I'm willing to believe all this stuff about the Star Spirits and who they happen to be enemies with. Just who is this "oncoming evil", anyway? What does he want?..._

Davey steadily climbed down a tree. He jumped off its trunk, landed on the knoll, and began to walk downhill. _Those two witches we encountered earlier,_ the boy thought. _They said something about aliens. They're not the oncoming evil... are they?..._

Leif was walking through an aisle of tall trees and rocks. His eyes were constantly scanning his surroundings. _First witches, and now Bandits and golden Yoshies..._ The Viking stopped in his tracks. He could hear the flapping of wings and a high-pitched shrieking. Instinctively, he shot out his mace and swung behind him. WHACK!! A bundle of blood and broken bones fell to the ground. It was only a Swooper. The towering witch-hunter scoffed and put his weapon away. _Too many annoyances..._

White Rose stood firmly atop a branch way up in the air. With one hand propped against the trunk and one hand over his searching eyes, he kept on the lookout. _Blast,_ the knight thought. _No sign of him._ The swordsman shook his head, turned around, and started planning his next route. _May as well start heading back..._

Suddenly, the brave warrior felt a sharp, stinging pain driving into his back. He grunted and, before he knew it, he was hurtling through the air. The knight landed on the ground below with a crash. Agitated, he forced himself back up and took out his sword. When he looked up, he saw the culprit: dozens of little Swoopers and Swoopulas flapping around, watching him like a vulture. The mysterious swordsman knit his brow.

_This could get ugly..._

Xoshi was standing in front of the designated hammer, tapping his foot with his arms folded. He was the first one back and the others were certainly taking their sweet time, whatever they were doing. The brown Yoshi was getting anxious. _I can already see the moon,_ he thought, looking up through the leaves. _Hmm... It almost seems different tonight..._

_You know, if I'm not mistaken,_ Beel piped up, _this is a Mario Land hammer..._

_Huh... Wonder what it's doing all the way out here..._

"XOSHI!!"

The brown dinosaur looked up. Coming out from behind the trees, Leif had finally returned. Chogun and Davey followed shortly. The four friends formed a circle around the hammer and talked it over.

"So, what do we do?" Leif asked. "There's no sign of the man anywhere."

"And what about White Rose?" Chogun added. "He's not back yet!"

"Maybe we should set up camp," Davey suggested. "The fire could draw them both to us..."

Xoshi shifted his eyes and starting tapping his temple with his finger. He didn't like the idea of being stuck doing anything without White Rose. The two of them had undergone much together. Three other friends were near him, yet he still felt alone somehow. "Well..."

"HEY!!"

The quartet turned around. Coming towards them was a different group of people, this one consisting of two mustachioed men and a female Magikoopa. The man up front looked very serious.

"That's my hammer over there!" Guido said.

Chogun raised his eyebrows. He pointed to the weapon on the ground. "This thing?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's it," Guido replied. "Can I have it back, please?"

"Oh. Sure thing..." The bug man got to work on kneeling down and handing the tool back to the Mario. Meanwhile, Foreman Spike was just standing around, turning his head and scratching it.

"Gosh darn it," he grumbled. "Where'd that guy go? I got something I wanna give him... in my fist..." Chogun and Guido nodded to each other. Xoshi was staring pensively at the latter. Foreman Spike, though, was more preoccupied with different matters. He suddenly noticed how silent Oglian was being. "Hey, woman," he said, "what's up with you?"

"Th... That man," the Magikoopa said, pointing to Leif. "That's Leif Erripipe... the witch-hunter!!"

"Who?"

"Ah, so you know who I am..." Leif calmly strode towards the foreman and his trembling partner. "You don't need to worry, ma'am. I don't sense the stench of one of the Twelve Gods of Chaos on you."

"Oh, thank goodness," Oglian breathed, placing a claw over her chest. "You have no idea how many times I've been accused of working for Veyran..."

"Yes. People can be narrow-minded..."

Now that Guido had his hammer back, he was walking back towards his two traveling companions. Then something came up and he stopped. "Wait a second, guys," Xoshi said. "That's him. That's the guy we're looking for."

Chogun, Davey, and Leif started staring at Guido. Foreman Spike and Oglian were staring at Xoshi. The foreman looked annoyed. "What?" he stated. "You need him for something?"

"It's a long story," Xoshi said as he approached Guido. The Mario was looking very confused. "Believe it or not, the entire world is in danger. Someone or something is going to attack it. The Star Spirits call it the oncoming evil. Whatever it is, it's not something that can be stopped easily..."

Guido shifted his eyes around. His fingers squirmed around his hammer's handle. "Actually," the little man said, "ever since I met this guy named Marlukin... I've been suspecting such a thing..."

Xoshi nodded. "Legend has it, only seven people can stop this thing. Chogun, Davey, and Leif here--and one other--they're all members of that seven. You are, too, Guido..."

"So," Guido said, "the Star Spirits... they want me to save the world?"

"I know it's asking a lot," Xoshi responded, "but I don't wanna see what happens if we don't do this for them."

Guido tilted his head down, his mind heavy with conflicting thoughts and feelings. "I see..."

Foreman Spike broke up the session. He scoffed and held his hands out skeptically. "Come on, Guido," he interjected. "Are you really gonna take what this weirdo says? The Star Spirits already want you for something: you're gonna travel with me so we can save Mario and Luigi from Kamek! Isn't that enough?"

Xoshi squinted at the foreman. Memories were starting to flow into his consciousness. _Mario and Luigi he said?_ the Yo'ster thought. _Kamek?..._

"But," Guido said, "if we do that, it only benefits Mario Land. If I go with this guy..."

"Oh, SHUT UP!!" Foreman Spike pulled out his sledgehammer and slammed it onto the ground. All eyes were on him now. "Gimme a break. You and all your stupid little 'what-if' questions. Why do you always have to make things so complicated? It's time for you to wake up, Guido. The entire world does not center around you. You're Mario Land. _We're_ Mario Land!! All the other countries on this godforsaken planet can go jump off a cliff. Now, are you gonna wise up and fight for your country, or are you gonna run off with these guys in faerie land?"

Guido gave the foreman a very long, firm stare. However, unlike on any other day, this time, there was no trace of fear in his eyes; only pity.

"Stop staring at me like that," Spike growled. He raised his sledgehammer up menacingly. "You wanna die or something?!"

"Gentlemen, this is no time for fighting!!" Now everyone's attention had been turned towards Leif. He had his mace out and he looked serious. "I smell witches... and warlocks..."

The two groups looked around. At first, nothing in the vicinity looked noteworthy. Then something appeared on both sides. Xoshi and the others were now surrounded by 15 different people. Half of them were Swoompires. The rest were all ghosts.

"So, we meet again!" Swoosh said in amusement.

"Nevermind that," the Wereyoshi growled, starting to walk in Xoshi's direction. "I've got a few choice words for this guy right here."

"Me, too," Yoshiki declared, floating after the Wereyoshi...

"Duke Swuke," Leif cited, staring the tremendous man in the eye. "It is an honor..."

"Likewise, witch-hunter..." The lanky Swoompire looked over the menacing Viking, but only for about two seconds. His attention was suddenly stolen when he noticed the young Davey looking around in confusion. The imposing Swoompire leader smiled at the sight and licked his lips slowly. "That young lad," the Swoompire purred, "would he be a friend of yours?"

Leif glared at the man inquisitively. "What of it?"

"Let me taste him..."

Foreman Spike was looking around frantically. He couldn't believe how badly the sudden appearance of these strange people could change everything. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded. "And who's that lady over there?" He pointed to Capt. Spatula. "She doesn't have anything to do with that Capt. Sugar, does she?"

"And just what would you know about my daughter?" the lady pirate threatened. Foreman Spike looked shocked.

"Daughter?..."

"Yeah, she's my daughter. You didn't do anything to her, did ya?"

"Well, I almost did," the foreman replied. "The little rat was asking for it anyway..."

The air in the woods was growing more fervent by the second. Leif and Duke Swuke looked ready to kill each other, as did Foreman Spike and Capt. Spatula. The others were looking either confused or eager. Meanwhile, two old enemies, Xoshi and the Wereyoshi, were staring each other down.

"Just tell me one thing," the Wereyoshi said, "how did you survive the blast?"

"I don't know," Xoshi said bluntly, "but we don't exactly have time for you guys right now."

The Wereyoshi scoffed. "Buddy, where you're going, you've got all the time in the world..."

"Now hold on a second," Yoshiki said. "You're not the only one who wants to get even with this guy..."

The Wereyoshi stared at his pink partner for a second, then sighed. "Alright," he said. "We'll do this together..." The paranormal Yoshi started cracking his knuckles. The ghostly Yoshi next to him was cracking her neck. Xoshi was just sighing in annoyance...

"AGH!! GET HIM OFF ME!!"

All heads jerked towards Duke Swuke. The vicious Swoompire had Davey pinned to the ground. His fangs were bared and aiming for the boy's neck. Davey didn't have a prayer...

WHACK!! The huge Swoompire was sent sprawling. He skidded across the grass and collided with a tree. Slowly, he lifted himself up and wiped the blood off the side of his face. Leif was standing in front of him, a mace dripping with a red liquid being held in his right hand. "Keep your hands off of him," the Viking threatened.

The gigantic Swoompire wiped the blood from his mouth and grinned. "So long has it been when one was able to strike me down," he purred. "You are good, my friend..."

Chogun was helping Davey off the ground. "Are you alright??" he asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just startled is all..." With Chogun's arms keeping him standing, the young boy glared at Duke Swuke who was preoccupied with Leif. Davey couldn't believe how, in just a few seconds, he was able to despise a man so harshly. "That guy," the boy growled, "he's worse than Belome..."

"Watch your mouth, ya little creep!!" Chogun and Davey looked up. Another Swoompire was glaring at them intently. This one was fat and bald. "That's Duke Swuke you're talking about. He's the only man in existence fit to take Count Dheos's place!!"

"Count Dheos?" Chogun repeated. "That monster that nearly overtook the Clover Kingdom hundreds of years ago?"

"GGRRUUUHHH!!!"

WHAM!! A gigantic black blur flew into sight and slammed a meaty fist right into the bug man. Chogun went flying. Davey was staring in fright and disbelief at the towering Swampic. The overgrown behemoth was panting heavily like a demon gone mad. Sward, Swan, and Swoosh had walked up right behind him.

"Well, you stupid ape, for once, I agree with you," said the seductive Swan. "Anyone who insults Count Dheos deserves to die..."

"You got that right, woman," Swoosh said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I can't remember what that young man said, but it angers the blood," Sward commented as he walked towards Chogun with his cane.

Guido was in a state of panic. First, Foreman Spike was the one causing him trouble. Now these people had shown up, and the direness of the situation had increased tenfold. The brown Yoshi was taking two other Yoshies, and his three friends were taking the Swoompires. He could only imagine what his personal two companions had in store for them._I have to help them,_ he thought bravely. He tightened the grip on his hammer and started running in Chogun's direction...

"Now hold on!!" Oglian blurted, diving in front of Foreman Spike before Capt. Spatula could do anything to him. "This young man didn't do anything to you or your daughter. Why must you all be acting like this?!"

The female pirate ghost just scoffed. "What is it, granny?" she said. "You wanna die, too?"

"Spatula, save some for us!!"

"Yeah!"

Princess Cherry Blossom and Dorreen had floated to the pirate woman's side. She looked at them both and shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then," she said. "But you'd better not get in my way..."

Foreman Spike clenched his teeth angrily. He refused to believe his prey had been taken away just like this. He badly wanted to kill something, and it showed...

"Oh, don't worry, big guy..." The foreman looked up. King Boo and Big Boo were now floating towards him. Both were sporting mischievous grins. Jax was walking towards him as well. "We won't let you be left out. After all, we the Spookalings have a rule: any enemy of our friend is our enemy..."

Foreman Spike grinned back. He hoisted up his hammer and prepared to fight. "That's a good saying..."

Meanwhile, Holy Troopa was merely hovering high up in the trees, watching the anger unfold before him. It had all started with that brown Yoshi from before, the gigantic Viking, and the man with the sunglasses. Now numerous deaths were going to grace this forest, as the undead Para Troopa could tell. _Whatever,_ he thought to himself, _I'll have no part in this. I don't have my weapon with me anyway..._

"GGRRUUHHH!!!" The fighting had begun. Just when Chogun was barely on his feet again, the ground before him exploded once more. Swampic had slammed a titanic fist into the earth and the bug man found himself jumping back, trying both to get away from this mutant behemoth and to avoid bumping into any of the trees.

"Insufferable fool," Chogun griped. He pulled out his axe, watching Swampic's moves carefully. The ape was slowly advancing on him. Swan and Swoosh, on the other hand, were much faster.

"That's enough, Swampic," Swan said. She lifted up her left hand and turned it into a black-feathered demonic swan. "Let us have a crack at him..."

"No way, woman, he's mine!!" Swoosh objected, holding his fists out before him and tightening them. Swan scowled at him.

"No," she hissed. "He's MINE!!"

"LIKE HELL, HE IS!!"

Chogun's eyes popped wide open. He jerked his axe up in front of his face, preparing for the sudden attack of the evil swan and Swoosh's spell. Suddenly, there was a loud BANG, and the insect-like man was safe. He put his weapon down and saw that Guido had leapt in just in time. Both attacks had been deflected with his hammer.

"You alright, sir?" the Mario asked, panting a bit.

"None of that 'sir' stuff, please," the man replied. "Just 'Chogun' will do." Guido nodded.

Swan and Swoosh had become flustered. They had thought it impossible for their moves to be so deftly pushed aside. Now it was this young man with the hammer they were angry with. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Swoosh asked.

"Yeah," the woman responded as she flicked her wrist, making her damaged swan get back up off the ground. "Until mustache guy is gone, bug guy's gonna have to wait..."

While Swan and Swoosh were headed for the nervous Guido, the lumbering Swampic was slowly walking towards Chogun with his fists clenched. Nearby, the elderly Sward had found a nice tree to place his back against. He yawned once he reached it, stretched, and slid into a sitting position. "Go get'im, Swampic, m'boy," he mumbled. "Show'im what the Swoompires're made of..."

Also within the vicinity, Davey was pulling his gun out on Swine. Leif did the same with his mace against Duke Swuke. All this, and Foreman Spike was gladly preparing for battle against the three of King Boo, Big Boo, and Jax. It was the trembling Oglian who was left up to Dorreen, Capt. Spatula, and Princess Cherry Blossom. Fists were being clenched, guns were being stroked, and many a fierce glare was going around. Even the air before them was starting to catch fire...

"The one who defeated Leif Erripipe," Duke Swuke pondered aloud. "Has a nice ring to it..."

"As does the one who defeated Duke Swuke, Swoompire of Lust," Leif retorted.

"Those sunglasses of yours," King Boo said to Foreman Spike, "they remind me of the last guy I fought: a blue Yoshi with a deep voice..."

Foreman Spike's eyes widened. "You know that guy??"

"Well, maybe I do, maybe I don't..."

Now a mood of bloodlust was sweeping the forest. Xoshi growled to himself, sensing another vicious battle around the bend. Following Leif and Foreman Spike's example, he tightened his fists and anticipated the enemy's next move. Then...

WHACK! "GRUUHHH!!" With a chop into the ogre's left arm with his axe, Chogun had begun the real fighting. The fury of all the people in the woods exploded. Swampic was making craters in the ground with his fists, causing Chogun to jump back even further each time. Davey fired rapidly at the ghastly Swine. Many of his bullets had gone right through his chest, but no blood was coming out and the man was still standing. He grinned mischievously at his diminutive opponent as the holes closed up on their own. Davey was dumbfounded. Now both he and his partner were in a bind...

Guido ran frantically around the trees. Swoosh was after him, as well as an entire flock of Swan's demonic birds. At one point, in a panic, he leapt up and latched onto an overhanging tree branch with his hands. Swoosh and the birds sailed right beneath him. The humble Mario breathed a sigh of relief. Then BAM!! A blast of pure air slammed into the man's chest. He flew backwards and went skidding across the grass. He struggled to get back up, but then the evil swans started swarming him and pecking at his face like crows. The man was just barely able to roll out of the way. Quickly, he hid behind a tree, his hammer being held tightly in his hand. He panted and sweated, knowing full well two very formidable opponents were headed his way...

WHOOSH!! Leif took another swipe at the dreaded Duke Swuke with his mace. A look of shock befell his face. He was certain that blow got the man dead-on, yet this did nothing at all. In fact, his mace was being held just below two vast pillars of a strange purple smoke. The unusual clouds floated away from the flabbergasted man and they slowly became more dark and dense. Seconds later, they had transformed into the vanished Duke Swuke. He smirked cockily at the bewildered Witch-Hunter, almost daring him to become even angrier. He did...

Foreman Spike immediately started swinging his hammer around like crazy. Having seen this countless times before, both of the Boos he was facing just kept twirling around his blunt weapon and cackling at his dismay. The agitated man grit his teeth and prepared for another swing when BAM!! A hard blow had connected with his stomach. Jax jumped away in triumph, bouncing up and down with his fists up, ready for more. The winded foreman knelt down, wheezed, and glared at the little man. Then BOOM!! Two more forces had gotten him in the back of the head. He had only just caught a glimpse of two white figures laughing away. The foreman decided he'd have to hold little back...

In Oglian's case, the woman was not fighting at all. She felt no urge to fight. Only panic and confusion was surrounding her. Questions wrought her brain in the midst of the mayhem. How did this happen? Why had it come to this? Suddenly, WHACK!! An instantaneous sharp pain had slammed onto her face. The surprised Magikoopa looked up and saw the culprit: Princess Cherry Blossom, though she was quite a few feet away. The female ghost smirked and began to crack her knuckles with her arms stretched out before her. To the innocent old Magikoopa, those pale arms looked to be made out of some sort of rubber. Then she saw the other two ghost girls behind her also dying to make their move. The female Magikoopa gulped upon realization: she'd have to unleash a certain weapon...

Xoshi nimbly flipped out of the way. Both Yoshies he was up against had attempted a fist in his face, but the duo of ghosts merely punched air. Their heads instantly spun in their enemy's direction. Sensing running away would benefit him in no way at this point in time, the brown Yoshi held out his right hand and made a golden flame burst into life upon it. With his eyes, he pinned two imaginary targets on the two that were running towards him. He reasoned he could beat them again if he had done it once before. Then suddenly...

_"ALL OF YOU, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!"_

The four groups of people that had just got it on with each other became still. They turned their heads and saw a new force approaching. It was a troupe of aliens, no fewer than 100. The one in the lead, Wart, had a malicious toothy grin on his face.

_"THERE'S NO NEED TO BE ALARMED,"_ he said. _"YOU ARE MERELY ABOUT TO BE ENGAGED IN A TEST OF STRENGTH..."_ The aliens behind him all chuckled deviously. Each of them were stroking their weapons and punching the palms of their own hands repeatedly. _"THOSE WHO PASS,"_ the giant frog continued, _"WILL RECEIVE AN HONORABLE POSITION AMONGST US. THOSE WHO FAIL... WILL RECEIVE DEATH!!"_ The aliens laughed some more. The air was beginning to grow more heavy with killing intent.

Princess Cherry Blossom stared at this new group confusedly and leaned over to her father. "What's going on?" she asked. "Who are these people?"

"They're all members of the Gonnic Gang," King Boo replied, turning his attention away from the flustered Foreman Spike and towards his daughter, "aliens with enough power to be the 13th God of Chaos. I met them during the final battle of the War of the Shy Gang. Man, this brings back memories..."

"Wait a minute," Oglian uttered. She walked away from the devious Dorreen, Capt. Spatula, and Princess Cherry Blossom and approached this new group of enemies. She pointed to Wart accusingly. "It's you," she elicited. "You're the one..."

Wart looked down at the woman inquisitively. The aliens behind him looked just as easily bemused. _"I BEG YOUR PARDON, MADAME?"_ he asked, almost mockingly.

"You're the one who took my precious great-granddaughter away!!" Oglian hissed. Wart, however, still didn't look phased.

_"MY DEAR WOMAN,"_, the frog said, _"I HAVE DEFEATED AND CAPTURED MORE PEOPLE THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE. I CAN'T BE EXPECTED TO REMEMBER THEM ALL..."_

"I hope for your sake that that doesn't include me," King Boo said as he floated towards the frog himself. Now everyone in the woods was even more confused. "How's it going, Warty? Remember me?" The high-ranking Boo took off his crown and smiled greatly. Wart raised an eyebrow at him.

_"WHO ARE YOU?"_

"It's me. King Carroo. King Carrot's son." The Boo put the crown back on his head and stopped smiling at the frog. "You killed me."

Quite a few of the people looked greatly surprised, including Xoshi. "Killed him?" he uttered. "That's how he died?"

Wart grinned heartlessly at the crowned Boo. _"DID I?"_, he said, _"WELL... PERHAPS YOU WERE NOT THAT VERY STRONG, THEN..."_

"Rrrr-AUUGRRGHH!!" The Boo instantly flung his ghostly fins out, slammed into the giant frog's chest, and sent both of them sprawling across the ground, non-stop. Then a cataclysmic WHACK sounded. King Boo went spiraling off the amphibian's body. The agitated Wart put his foot down and pried himself back onto his feet. All his alien minions were staring at him now. Their imposing green leader snorted and adjusted himself.

_"WELL?!"_ he bellowed. _"ALL OF THEM. THEIR BLOOD WILL BE OURS TONIGHT!!"_

A mighty cheer surged forth from the crowd of aliens. Whatever bloodlust had already been in the forest at the time had suddenly become increased exponentially. Some of the fighters were horrified by this.

_Is this what happens when people come here?_ Xoshi wondered. _They go crazy and fight?_

_Just like Belome Rock,_ Beel commented. _This place is cursed..._

Wart fired a pointing finger in the direction of Xoshi, his friends, and all the people they had bumped into in this forest. A seismic roar escaped his lips. _"ATTTAAAACCKK!!!"_ Now a stampede of armed space aliens was surging through the woods. The opposing side forced itself to prepare for this new battle. Before they knew it, Chogun and Swampic were tangling with some frogs of their own. Davey and Swine had some purple aliens, Guido, Swan, and Swoosh had some silvers, and the rest was scattered. The entire forest had been transformed into a war zone.

All the while, a lone creature stood high atop one of the trees. He looked down upon all the chaos and giggled delightedly to himself. "All one-hundred-and-twenty-three of you," Razeil said gleefully, "fight. FIGHT!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!..."

* * *

In the underground cavern, Crookie was stretching his arms and Crania was pulling out a wrench. Their monstrous enemy, the ghastly Blifit, continued to growl and drool blue ooze. Sackle stared carefully into the lost woman's eyes. The thief silently cursed to himself; behind those cold eyes, there was nothing... 

The female behemoth let out a gigantic roar and swung at her three adversaries. Crookie and Crania jumped away, but Sackle leapt over. He landed on the dirt-covered ground and slashed towards the femme fatale's chest. The monster grunted in annoyance. Sackle had merely scratched her. The woman raised both arms into the air and prepared for a smash-hit. Sackle quickly hopped away. BOOM!! A circle of destruction had materialized in the ground, but the three pests remained. Blifit was confused.

Then BAM! WHACK!! Crookie had sent a punch in the villainess's face while Crania got her from behind the head with her wrench. The ghost was in a world of pain, but was far from out. Angered significantly, she flung out her arms to the side and spun around. BAM!! Too slow for it, both Crookie and Crania were knocked back from the blow. Sackle watched in shock as they flopped to the ground. He glared at the vengeful woman as she turned on him, already up for another devastating strike...

_Get it through your head, Blifit: we're only trying to help you,_ the thief thought as he wiped some blood off of his knives. _You don't have to hurt your friends!!_

* * *

Xoshi, Yoshiki, and the Wereyoshi put their fists up. An angry mob of about 30 different purple aliens had surrounded them. The odds looked horrid, but the trio had to maintain its composure. Now the aliens were flinging themselves upon the three-some, brandishing knives, clubs, and spears. Thinking quickly, Xoshi flipped back and kicked one of them in the face. The Wereyoshi grabbed one by the scruff of his shirt and slammed him into the ground. When three purples came flying towards Yoshiki, she merely shot into the air and slapped all three of them in the face with a spin of her ghostly tail. The three Yoshies landed and looked around. Still more were coming. 

"Pity we're such bitter enemies," the Wereyoshi remarked. "We'd have made a great team..."

"Shuh. Like I'd team up with you if my life depended on it," Xoshi retorted.

"Well put," the Wereyoshi smirked. Another wave of purple aliens came hurdling towards the group, and another round of blows ensued...

With a heavy chop, Chogun had taken one of the frogs' arms clean off. Behind him Swampic was busy pounding another one flat into the ground. One other frog had sprung through the air and was spiraling towards the bug man like a big green cannonball. The treasure-hunter saw him in the nick of time, pulled out his wand, and unleashed a tsunami of pure white energy. FFOOOMM!! Burnt to a crisp, the alien frog was sent down in flames. Chogun stood back with his axe poised before him. Hearing a constant mashing sound behind him, he looked behind himself and saw Swampic was still beating on the same frog.

"Honestly, what good are you?" the transformed man commented. "Can't you tell he's not getting back up?"

Swampic stopped what he was doing and started looking confused. "Gruh?"

_"SO!! YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE PRETTY HOT!!"_

The unlikely duo turned towards a new enemy. Other aliens were backing away from this two-some, but one pair had bravely stepped forward: Welt and Wartini.

_"YEAH!! WE'RE GONNA KILL YOU... AND THAT BIG UGLY APE... AND THAT GIANT SWOOMPIRE RIGHT THERE! ALL EIGHT OF YOU ARE DEAD!!"_

Chogun shifted a bemused look back to Swampic with his eyes. The overgrown Swoompire seemed to be engaged in an intricate counting game with his fingers. Chogun rolled his eyes. Then BAM!! For one brief moment, it was raining mud and chunks of grass. Both the treasure-hunter and the Swoompire looked up. Welt had stamped down extremely hard in the most potent of aggravation.

_"PAY ATTENTION, DAMN IT!!"_ the insane frog snarled. _"GET YOUR SITUATION CLEAR: YOU'RE GONNA DIE!!!"_

_"YEAH!! HURRAY FOR WINE!!"_

_"GYYAAAAHHHH!!"_ Now the frogs were stampeding towards Chogun and Swampic. In response, the two simply raised their axe and fists and beckoned this new fight with their minds.

_I can't believe I'm working alongside this overgrown ingrate,_ Chogun thought as he and Welt began their skirmish...

TSEW! TSEW! TSEW!! Very easily, one by one, Davey was picking off aliens with his laser pistol. Behind him, the hefty Swine was transforming his arms into elongated tentacles of green ooze and using them to bash more hapless aliens' heads in. Both were proving to be worthy adversaries pretty quickly. Some of the aliens were even starting to get scared now.

"What's the matter, pussycats?" Swine called out, grinning towards a particular group of trembling frogs. "Come on... I'm just getting started!!"

"Enough..." Suddenly, all the other aliens were standing down. The lot of them had cleared a path as a new foe walked into view. It was none other than the deadly Trigg of the laser pistol. He stood firmly and strummed his fingers against the gun at his side. "Kid, it's been a while since I've seen someone with your skill with a pistol... Mind if I go one-on-one with you?"

Davey pointed to himself with his gun. "You wanna fight me?"

"That's right..."

"Yeah, boy, you'd better watch it!! That man will blast your brains out in a second, he will!!"

"Duh, that's right!!"

Two more purple aliens walked in. It was Tapoleon and his simpleminded companion, Toonga. Trigg merely acknowledged them with a glance. "The kid's all yours, Triggy," Tapoleon said cockily. "Just leave the fat guy to us!"

"Duh, yeah!"

Trigg watched half-interestedly as Tapoleon brandished a whip and as Toonga began to stretch his lanky arms. Swine watched them warily as they approached him. Now Trigg's gaze was back on the young Davey. "I'll give you one minute," he continued coolly. "By that time, you'd better be far away from here. I've been known to kill my prey instantly..."

Davey cocked his eyebrow at the skilled sharpshooter. "Are you crazy?" he remarked. "You want me to run away? You call that a fight?"

"Fifty-nine seconds..." Trigg slowly pointed his gun at the air. Davey was confused. Then BAM!! The boy jumped to the side. He had no idea what had happened, but now there was a large steaming hole in the ground beside him. "Fifty-eight seconds..." Trigg pointed the gun behind himself. BAM!!! A hole even larger than the last had just appeared on the other side of Davey. Now the picture was clear. Davey grit his teeth, turned tail, and fled.

_Smart boy,_ the accomplished gunner thought, watching maliciously as his opponent sped through the woods. _Now the game will be more interesting..._

Guido and his team were doing nicely. One swing of his hammer, and the Mario had sent a less than fortunate silver alien careening right into a nearby tree. Swan's demonic birds were pecking a few others' faces off and Swoosh was even using his tremendous height to pound a few flat using nothing but his feet.

"Don't think we're doing this for your sake, little man," Swoosh said to Guido as he kicked another space alien's face in. "Once we're through with these guys, you're next!!"

"I don't care," Guido grumbled as he back-knuckled one silver that tried coming at him from behind.

"STOP IT, YOU TERRIBLE WOMAN!!" Guido and the two Swoompires looked up. Two more annoyances had appeared. These ones were Cloaker assisted by his good friend Domino. "Always beating up on the men in this world... Have you no feelings?!" Cloaker wailed.

"Hey, it's not that I've got a problem with men," Swan said. She walked a bit closer to the hot-headed Domino and kicked aside one alien that had fallen to the ground. "I've got a problem with loud, obnoxious, boastful pigs. A lot of them just happen to be male."

"Still thy tongue," Cloaker growled. He pulled out his sword and raised it proudly into the air. "Come, Domino!! Let us incur a most incomparable pain upon this wretched being!!"

"Aye, my comrade!! Let us-"

BAM!! Guido and the other two's eyes popped out. In a flash, the dubious Cloaker and Domino had been turned into pancakes by a lumbering silver alien carrying a mighty sledgehammer of his own. He had rippling muscles, a completely clean-shaven head, and a look in his eyes reeking of murder. "Call me Slam," the imposing extra terrestrial growled. "I'll pass on the woman and the string bean... The little one's mine..."

Guido stared cautiously at this new approaching menace. Swan and Swoosh just looked insulted, Swoosh especially. "'The tall one' would have done just nicely, thank you very much," the Swoompire complained.

"Quiet, you man," Swan ordered. Steam started to pour out of the taller one's ears. Then Cloaker and Domino's heads popped out of their flattened bodies.

"Look at that Slam," Cloaker said admiringly. "Not quite the Smithy we adore, but... Oh, mercy!"

"Your little friend doesn't stand a chance!" Domino snickered.

The two Swoompires shot two fatal glares at the pair of aliens. "We are NOT friends with him!!" Swoosh exclaimed. He and Swan leapt through the air and aimed for Cloaker and Domino. The aliens nodded to each other, unleashed their sword and magic, and the battle began...

CHING!! Red hot sparks flew from the two sledgehammers. A bead of sweat trickled down Guido's face as he stared into Slam's eyes and tried to push his heavy weapon back. "This one is good," Slam purred. "I'm glad I took it..."

Guido scoffed and shoved Slam off him, panting drastically. _I'd rather have the yellow guy from the ship,_ he thought bitterly, and the two fighters crossed hammers again...

Leif swung his mace to the right and bashed one frog square in the temple. He sensed another lunging towards him, and he spun around and punted him in the jaw. His enigmatic partner, Duke Swuke, had two frogs in his clutches. Both were floating in the air with rings of purple smoke around their necks. They were choking. The duke smiled sadistically. The two frogs he had then ran out of air and passed out. The Swoompire dropped them to the ground as he turned the smoke back into his arms. Leif started glaring at the man after grabbing another frog, flipping him over, and driving him into the ground.

"Your fighting style disturbs me," Leif commented. "Are you fighting out of self defense or just the thrill of it?"

"It's a battle, my dear Leif," the duke replied. "We should be enjoying ourselves..."

Leif took his gaze away from the tall Swoompire and punched an incoming frog in the face. "Hmph. What pains me is that you may be right."

Duke Swuke laughed cruelly as one more frog came charging after him. He impaled his heart using nothing but his clawed hand. "I'll hand it to you," he purred, "you are more the admirable man than I had originally perceived you to be..."

Foreman Spike surged a massive wave of killer intent through his muscles and into his hammer. The result was a seismic CLANG. His blow had been blocked by a strong blade. "Come on, tell me where he is!!" the foreman demanded. "I'll beat your face out!!"

"Specify your demands, simpleton," Katana growled. "Just who are you looking for?!"

"You know perfectly well who I'm looking for, pretty boy!!" Spike pulled his hammer away and swung at the alien's legs. Katana jumped over the blow. "He's got silver skin and white hair, just like you!"

"You ARE an idiot," Katana grumbled. He took a merciless swipe at the man with his sword and the fight continued...

Not too far away, the four of Big Boo, Jax, Dorreen, and Capt. Spatula were going wild against numerous other silver aliens badly wanting some undead carnage. The Boo was flying straight towards them and headbutting them in the stomach, the Werewolf was employing some tripping techniques, and the two girls were strangling some with their ectoplasmic tails. Only Princess Cherry Blossom wasn't fighting.

"Cherry, what's your deal?" the pirate woman suddenly asked once her enemy fell to the ground. "Don't just float there; there's plenty of alien to go around!"

"I'm just worried about my dad," the princess explained. "He may be a ghost now, but is he still able to fight the man who killed him?"

"Well," the pirate stated, letting her teammates do all the fighting for this one second, "I'll tell you this: whatever will happen, will happen..."

"That's what worries me..."

A vast assortment of chaos was surrounding him, but Wart stood firm. Before him were the two that wanted him dead the most badly: Oglian and King Boo. King Boo was wiggling his fins at his side. They were practically already around the giant frog's neck, choking the life out of him, but it was the Magikoopa who made the first move. The frog and the ghost were suddenly watching as she shoved a clawed hand into the air. They waited a few seconds, and then something happened. An object appeared in the purple sky beyond the leaves. It grew larger as it swooped further and further towards the ground. Then WHAMM!! A sizable leopard-like creature landed. Its fur was made out of a synthetic pink fuzz with purple spots. It also had a fanciful pair of bird-like wings growing out of its back.

"This is my pet," Oglian explained, "Scarvus the Sky Leopard. My apologies, but I'm afraid he won't go easy on you."

Wart grinned. _"WELL THEN,"_ he said. _"SHALL WE BEGIN?"_

"HAHH!!" King Boo blasted himself forward with his fangs bared. Wart quickly retaliated with an uppercut. BAM!! The ghost was sent spiraling away once more. Then the alien frog heard a bloodcurdling roar and turned to look. Now the leopard was stampeding towards him. It sprang through the air with its claws and fangs out. The frog merely thrust one hand out and used it to clasp the cat's mouth shut. Its paws landed harshly on the cold ground, but it continued to fight against the powerful amphibian. Wart then spun his own arm around, slamming the overgrown cat into the ground and away from him. Before long, though, it was unleashing another monstrous attack...

King Boo was rubbing his sore stomach. He floated up to the side of Oglian in a state of pure aggravation. "Don't think too highly of yourself, woman," he warned. "That man killed me!!"

"I know," Oglian replied, ever holding her hands out and twitching her fingers. The leopard seemed to respond to their movements. "I presume many others seek justice against this man. It seems only natural two of them like us would eventually find him and fight him. Whatever path it was in life that man chose, this is where it led him. Therefore, right now, it's our duty to give him everything he deserves. The rest is up to fate..."

"Heh. Talkative woman..." King Boo turned back towards the fight. His eyes widened suddenly. The leopard had just sent the villainous frog tumbling with a powerful swipe to the chest. The ghost became intrigued. "Alright, I'll say it: you're good, and I don't think I'll be able to take him alone."

"There's a good lad..."

WHACK!! Two karate chops later, and the two of Yoshiki and the Wereyoshi had succeeded in bringing down another pestering pair of purple aliens. One tried coming at Xoshi from behind and ensaring him in a headlock, but the crafty brown dinosaur slammed him into the stomach with an elbow. The winded alien heaved and staggered away from him. Xoshi then spun his tail around and knocked the enemy off his feet. Gradually, the remaining aliens were starting to grow more fearful of these three Yoshies they were against.

"Come on," the Wereyoshi growled. "Didn't you wanna test my strength? I'm just getting started..."

None of the aliens said anything. Most of them had become too afraid of this trio of adversaries. Then one of them finally walked into the field out of nowhere. He was tall and sleek and half of his face was covered with long, dark purple hair. He looked full of confidence. "I'll take you on," he said pulling out a gigantic silver scythe. "I'm interested in the three of you. It's been a while since the last time I got a good fight in..."

The other aliens were all starting to murmur excitedly, stating the alien's name over and over again. The Wereyoshi was starting to get anxious himself. Clearly, this was no pushover that had challenged him.

"The name's Trann, Trann Reaper," the alien introduced. "I'm the last thing my enemies see before I kill them."

"Well, good luck with that, buddy," the Wereyoshi responded. "I'm already dead."

"Ho, I don't plan on killing you," Trann explained. "If I did that, I wouldn't be able to drag your unconscious body back to Tito, now would I?"

Xoshi and the other two became inquisitive. "Tito, huh?" the Wereyoshi repeated.

"Yes, he's our leader. Once he gathers an unbeatable army using all the most powerful fighters on the planet Tronnajus, the galaxy will be helpless. Already, we've got 47 people. Just three more more, and it'll be a nice round 50."

"Heh. Well then, what are you waiting for?" the Wereyoshi said. "The three you're looking for are right here. Come and get us..."

Trann smiled at the Wereyoshi. He readied his scythe and started charging towards him. The Wereyoshi watched intently and prepared a retaliation. In the next second, the two were right in front of each other. Trann swung at the Yoshi using the blunt end of his scythe. The ghastly Yoshi backflipped out of the way and lashed his long tongue out at the alien. Trann swatted it aside with one powerful fist. The Wereyoshi was startled. He was about to attempt another move on his fierce opponent when he felt a dynamic kick slamming into his jaw. Now the undead Yoshi was flying through the air in great agony. Trann smirked once more, then jumped into the air. The Wereyoshi was still flying when the formidable alien sent another kick his way, this one drilling into the back of the dinosaur's head. BAM!! He crashed to the ground and was out like a light. The other aliens were cheering for Trann's efforts.

"You monster!!" Yoshiki yelled out. "I'll show you!!"

Trann scoffed as the female Yoshi started flying towards him. While holding his scythe underneath one arm, he used the other to grab the woman by the neck and throw her to the ground. It all happened so quickly, it may as well have been a flash of purple and pink light the audience saw. Now both of the Spookaling Yoshies were down. The aliens cheered even louder.

"Honestly," Trann said cockily. "Aren't you guys supposed to be ghosts? Sorry, but you don't pass the test. Now let's see how brownie over here fairs..."

The extra terrestrials loudly expressed their approval. Pure excitement was rushing them. As for Xoshi, he was nervous. All he could think of was how hard it was to defeat those two the last time they met. Now he was the one about to face the prowess of Trann.

_These aliens,_ Xoshi thought, _they're not the oncoming evil, are they?_

_I'll tell you who it is later,_ Beel replied. _Right now, concentrate on a way to beat him._

_Alright..._

Meanwhile, a lone knight stood amidst a now inactive battlefield. Several Swoopers and even Swoopulas had come for the mysterious warrior, but all of them had received more than they bargained for. All that remaind of them now was the furry little winged corpses surrounding the man.

White Rose squeezed his tightly wrapped fingers around the hilt of his sword. Sweat moistened his brow and his eyes were ever on the lookout. _Is it over?_ he wondered. Then the swordsman heard three very loud thumping noises above him. He snapped his head up and saw a trio of new opponents. All three were Swooper-like creatures over ten feet tall. Their fur was black and their gargoyle-type wings were red. Their gaze rivaled the endless fury of an inferno.

SHOOM!! The three giant bats spread their massive wings. They leapt off the tree branches and went flying towards White Rose like a set of bloodthirsty missiles. The man quickly readied his sword once more and prepared for more carnage. _Swoopzillas,_ he thought darkly. _This is just the beginning. I can only hope the others are more well off than I..._

* * *

Sackle, Crookie, and Crania were doing their best to maintain their intensity. The seismic Blifit floated before them, still drooling puddles of blue ooze. She lifted up one ghostly fin before the trio and beckoned them with it. With that, the three thieves were charging once more. Sackle had his knives out and was ready to hack through the ghost's stomach with it. Deftly, Blifit flipped away from the strike. When she wasn't looking, Crookie flew out of nowhere and slammed one solid fist into her gut. The monster was floating backwards and staggering when Crania suddenly leapt up and walloped the abomination in the face with her wrench. Blifit roared in fury. The other three just stood back. 

"Blifit, it's over," Sackle called out. "You can't beat us. Now move on and let us pass."

"Can't move on," Blifit snarled. She was starting to breathe very heavily as though she were attempting an embodiment of a hurricane. "Something's out there... No one must face it!!"

Sackle stared confusedly at his former partner. "What?"

"I must protect everyone," the demonic woman heaved. "No one must face what's out there!!"

"Blifit, what's out there??"

SHING!! The thieves sprang to the side. What was once empty space beside them had now become a gigantic flower of glaring icicles. When they turned their attention towards the ghoulish Blifit once more, she did it again. She took a deep breath and fired. SHING!! The three criminals scattered. Had that last one have got them, all three of them would have been imprisoned in a statue of ice.

"Blifit, you just don't know when to quit," Sackle growled. He pulled out some more knives and began another assault against the deranged woman. This time, though, the Snifit was retaliating with a blizzard that was gradually freezing the entire underground maze...

* * *

WHAM!! Chogun suddenly found himself clinging to his own axe for dear life. He felt like he had nearly been thrown off a cliff by a train. In the middle of his shock, another green fist flew his way. The little man jerked his head away. Then another fist came at him and he jumped back. Welt grinned sadistically. He then started chasing the bug man with a non-stop barrage of kicks and punches. All the man could do was dodge. 

When he looked around himself, Chogun could see a tree looming in from behind. If all went wrong, he could tell he'd just be pinned to that tree's trunk, baring the mercilessness of Welt's attacks. He reasoned he'd just have to improvise.

Welt continued his never-ending onslaught. His smile gradually grew bigger as he pictured a bloody pulp materializing before him. He even licked his lips. Then CHING!! The frog shrieked. he had let his guard down for one split-second, and now there was a huge bloody gash on his tongue. He looked up and saw his bug-like opponent going for another swing. _"OH NO, YOU DON'T,"_ the alien frog fumed. WHAP!! He grabbed the heavy weapon's neck with his hand before it could cleave through his face again. _"I TOLD YOU... YOU'RE GONNA DIE!!"_

BAM!! With an explosive kick to the gut, Chogun was torn away from his axe and sent flying backwards. WHAM!! His back hit a tree and the man fell agonizingly to the ground. He shook his head and looked up. Now Welt was directly above him with his axe in his hands.

_"YOU'RE GONNA DIE, YOU LITTLE RAT!! GONNA DIE!!"_ WHACK!! The frog blasted a large chunk of wood out of the tree's trunk, but nothing more. When he turned his head, he noticed his prey was now on the run. The amphibious killer grinned deviously._"SCARED... SCARED!! I LOVE IT!! HA HA HA!!!..."_

Also running for his life, Davey found himself hurtling over more bushes and giant rocks than he ever thought possible. Dirt and sweat were caking his skin and his clothes, but he felt he'd be dead by now had he have gone with any other alternative. He could sense the demented Trigg was somewhere behind him. It would wrack him with fear if a plant suddenly exploded near him without explanation. What was that man's power?

The boy found a ledge and jumped down. He ducked beneath the balcony of grass and earth hanging over him and pulled out his gun. He was holding it very closely as though it were his life. "Come on," he breathed, desperately trying to reawaken his strength, "I'm waiting. Come and get me."

TSEW TSEW TSEW!! Davey saw three gigantic lasers fly out of nowhere in a row. The first one moved like a spiral, the second like a zigzag, and the third like a trail of glowing squares flying in midair. CRACK!! They all hit a tree of their own. The young Davey saw three giant towers of wood explode in a tsunami of fire and they went hurdling into the steep trench below. When Davey looked into it, he got the feeling of a bottomless pit.

"Boy, don't disappoint me..." Davey jolted, flew back, aimed his gun, and fired. TSEWW!! CRACK! He managed to sear off a tree branch and maybe a few blades of grass, but nothing more. Trigg was unharmed. "Your eyes tell me you're better than this. Why are you holding back?" Like he always did, he pointed his gun somewhere where Davey clearly wasn't, but his gaze was still on him.

Then TSEW!! Davey watched as another beam appeared. This one looked like a snake of light looping around in midair, conveying that it had a mind of its own. Then the laser turned on Davey and the boy panicked. He spun around, latched onto the edge of the cliff, and threw himself up. BAM!! The boy went somersaulting. He skidded on the ground for a second, but, at this point in time, minor injuries couldn't bother him. When he looked back for one second, he caught a glimpse of Trigg's expressionless face and his gun pointing behind him. Adrenaline surged through the boy's veins and he was bolting off once more. TSEWW!!

_Just keep running, boy,_ Trigg thought. _Soon enough, I'll be tasting your true power..._

BANG!! Guido sent himself flying away from his overtly powerful opponent. So many clashes had ensued between their two hammers, the Mario was starting to wonder if he was in a battle or a steel mill.

"It seems these two hammers like each other," Slam commented, but Guido could barely hear him. He wished he'd stop mumbling. "Flesh ripping... Bones smashing... That would be good..." His hammer was being raised once more and Guido became extremely alert. He kept his eyes on the enemy and got himself mentally prepared. Then the two fighters rushed towards each other and began the cacophony again. Their solid metal hammers ricocheted off each other, their feet spun around like mad, and their teeth grit until they were practically tearing into their own gums.

_First Marlukin, and now these guys,_ the Mario thought. _You were right, Oglian; there ARE people out there worse than the Koopas..._

Back in his fight, Wart was just standing there with a heartless smile on his face. King Boo and Scarvus were rushing towards him and he was barely even moving. Then a pair of fanged fireballs were split-seconds away from his face and BAM!! He knocked them both to the ground with a double-punch. King Boo and Oglian winced from the man's power. King Boo was the first to get back up. He floated in midair for one second just to give his nemesis a cold-hearted stare. Then he curled his left fin into a fist so tightly, the air looked as though it were rippling around it. The ghost concentrated fiercely on turning his own fist into a projectile of mysterious blue and purple flames. Then he aimed for the man's grinning face and launched.

Wart did something very unexpected. He stuck his long, amphibious tongue out and spun his head around. The rest was a reverberating THWACK. King Boo stood petrified in his hovering. The cannonball of darkness he had just formed was soaring into a completely different direction. KA-BOOM!! The blast struck one of the trees. The entire thing was split in half. That, and a colossal bouquet of branches and leaves were falling right out of the dusk sky. King Boo and Oglian pictured it squashing the lot of them. Then Wart suddenly rocketed himself straight up towards it and tore a powerful fist into a key branch.

CRACKK!! The sound was almost deafening. The bouquet had been torn into a million little sharp pieces, and they were coming down onto the battlefield like a rain of razor-sharp thorns. Instinctively, King Boo and Oglian merely ducked and tried shielding their entire bodies with their arms. This helped but minimally. Bloody scratches and tears were forming all over their bodies and the storm still wasn't over. The rain was just barely letting up when Wart finally came back to the ground with an earthshaking slam. King Boo and Oglian were rapidly becoming exhausted from this fight.

_"IT'S A SIMPLE QUESTION,_" the giant frog stated. _"DO YOU DESERVE TO LIVE? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROVE IT..."_

King Boo floated back up from the ground while prying off a particular large wood chip from his arm. Oglian shook off some dirt and forced her wrinkled hands into another position. Scarvus was back on his feet as well. Wart was still smiling. His two opponents abhorred the sight.

_I won't stop until you give her back,_ Oglian thought.

_Come on, pal, you know you wanna be a ghost just like me,_ King Boo added. The two vengeful fighters continued to strive towards Wart's downfall...

In his own battle, Foreman Spike could see Katana's deadly sword swinging for his torso. The man jumped out of the way and flipped his sledgehammer up. CHING!! Katana's blade ran right into it. The foreman shoved the silver alien off of him, spun around, and fired a kick to his solar plexus. The alien took the hit head-on, and it winded him, but he forced himself to fight on through such dire pain. He flipped his sword through the air and made a large gash form across the foreman's chest. He yelped out in agony.

"Tell me where he is!!" the imposing Mario demanded. "Now!!"

"I told you, I don't know who you're talking about!!" Katana seethed as he swung once more at the foreman.

"Come on... He's really arrogant and kinda girly-looking. His name is... Gutless or Cutesy, or something."

Katana gasped and stopped himself from taking another swing at the foreman. "You mean Cutlass?"

CHING!! Katana stopped Foreman Spike's hammer from smashing his face in in the nick of time with his blade. "YES!!" the foreman hissed when he heard the name. "Now tell me where he went!!"

"YOU tell me!!" Katana retorted and attempted a dismemberment of his oppenent's legs...

Xoshi spun through the air, feeling pure shock and horror surging through his body. All Trann did was one chop to the front with his massive scythe and the ground exploded. Now he was hurtling through the air for what felt like forever. Then BAM!! His stomach rammed right into the tree. The Yoshi fell to the ground winded. The aliens laughed at his predicament. Trann chuckled as he strode towards him, swirling his scythe around.

"Come on, kid. You're the last one standing. Don't you wanna play hero and take me down with all your might?" the alien taunted.

Xoshi gathered up his strength and pried himself back onto his feet. He wiped his mouth and glared at the purple reaper. Trann smirked and cocked his eyebrow in return. Xoshi scoffed and concentrated. He summoned up the power that had served him so unquestioningly these past few days and turned it into a flickering golden fireball floating in his right-hand. Trann eyed the phenomenon with mild interest.

FWOOSH!! Xoshi hurled the star spell straight for the alien's gut. To him, though, the attack was nothing more than a reflection of light in his eye. FWING!! The reaper spun his scythe around in an instant and sent the star rocketing towards the sky. Xoshi's spell had been neutralized. The Yoshi stared at the man with his jaw dropped. The aliens were laughing even harder now.

"That's an impressive ability you've got there," Trann said as he twirled his scythe around like a baton some more. Then with a prominent whooshing sound, he snapped it into place behind him. He stared at his brown enemy with mischievous eyes. "I wonder if it's on par with mine?..."

Trann held out his right hand and uncurled it. Xoshi stiffened with surprise when he saw its next trick: it created a floating wisp of purple and white flames vaguely resembling a skull. The audience was getting excited. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Trann remarked. "Yes, with proper training, ANYONE can awaken the powers within them..."

Trann started swirling his hand around, causing the ball of white fire in his hand to jump up and down repeatedly. When Xoshi watched more carefully, he noticed each rotation was making the fireball replicate itself. Soon enough, the man was now holding about 20 different skulls hopping around in just one hand. The sight was virtually terrifying.

"Tell me, hero," Trann taunted, "do you have what it takes to point your sword at death, to fight it to the death, and live to tell the tale?..."

SHOOM!! Trann hurled the fury of flaming skulls at the brown Yoshi. They came at him like a swarm of undead crows. Relying almost purely on reflexes, Xoshi saw the attack, thrust both his palms out, and fired. The rest happened in a maelstrom of gold, white, and purple fireworks detonating in midair. The crowd was dazzled. When the spell faded, Xoshi was panting. Trann grinned.

"That right there," the man gloated, "that's the kind of fighter I've been dying for..." The reaper materialized another set of flaming skulls and Xoshi snapped. He turned his entire right arm into a voracious tentacle of golden flames and went charging towards his purple assailant. The crowd cheered and started shouting to see some blood. The battle's intensity had risen to its next level...

Holy Troopa watched everything high up in the trees with his rear-end parked and his arms folded. Everything looked so disgusting, yet he had never before seen any such vigor in his entire life. The only thing that compared to this was during that final battle in Vedgia. This time, though, it wasn't the matter of the Shy Gang, the Death Sickles, the Evil Clowns, or the Super Mushroom League. Not even Princess Shokora, Naji, and Shmy Guy were involved. As for Blifit and Sackle, they were elsewhere.

On the other hand, though, the Gonnic Gang was still here and the Super Mushroom League had just been replaced by the Spookalings. The rest had been so by these 14 new people. Now there were Yoshies battling purple aliens, ghosts battling the silvers, and Swoompires battling the frogs. The undead Para Troopa found it mildly amusing how all this had been brought upon from one root: the desire to survive.

But was everything really that simple? Did fate really mean for these five groups to clash? Whatever the case, the Troopa reasoned it was only the loss of those who couldn't keep their heads together in this accursed forest...

"You stayin' out of the fight, too?"

Holy Troopa jumped. He didn't know that, up here in the trees, one other was beside him. It was one of the purple aliens, Tobi, but he didn't look too dangerous. "What are you doing here?" the Para Troopa inquired, somewhat on edge. "Aren't those your comrades down there? Shouldn't you be fighting beside them?"

Tobi waved his hand pettily. "I'm one of them, but... I don't fight. I'm afraid I'd just get killed."

"Same here," Holy Troopa remarked. The two non-fighters watched as Leif and Duke Swuke simultaneously sent two more frogs flying with a swing of the mace and a swipe of the claws. There were so many screams of agony and angst in this forest, it was as though the portal to the next world had just opened up.

"Pesky kids," Holy and Tobi heard from below. The unmotivated Sward was still trying to get some sleep by this tree. "Don't know when to keep the noise level down..." The two in the tree heard this and four more silver aliens had been stricken down courtesy of the other Spookalings. As soon as that happened, though, eight more enemies were upon them. This fight didn't end.

"Let me let you in on a little secret," Holy said to Tobi. "A long time ago, I went to Belome Rock. Rumor has it, the place is cursed. It bleeds whenever someone in the Clover Kingdom is going to die a horrible death within the next two days. Well, two days after that..."

"The battle of Vedgia took place," Tobi guessed.

Holy nodded. "Yeah. Now I'm starting to think the mountain may have made a similar prediction two days ago."

"I know what you mean," Tobi commented. "Two days ago, the lot of us had a little adventure against an ancient spirit named Tondariya. Two of our men, Naji and Cutlass, disappeared in the process. Well, that's behind us now, but it seems that if it's not one thing with us, it's another..."

Holy Troopa slowly nodded. Only two of the three names mentioned he recognized, but no matter what, he couldn't keep his eyes off the fight. Wartini had just crashed a bottle of wine into Swampic's eyes and while Tapoleon was hardly anything of a match for Swine, Toonga was proving to be a very difficult opponent. "It's just a never-ending carousel ride with us, isn't it?" Holy remarked.

"And we could jump off, but that wouldn't stop it," Tobi replied. The two continued to watch as the battle raged on like an erupting volcano...

* * *

Sackle quickly found himself in a bind. He tried scampering away from Blifit's next wave of freezing cold breath, but he only ended up wiping out on some more of the ice and crashing into a frigid stone wall. Everything was spinning around. Only two upside-down figures vaguely resembling Crookie and Crania fighting the monster he could make out. The blue-capped thief scrunched his eyes shut and clenched his fist tightly. _Blifit..._

The monster finished covering every inch of the floor. Now the arena was completely frozen, and anyone who had feet like the other two was going to have to pay for it. Crookie didn't care. He twisted his neck around, jumped onto a ramp of pure ice, and slid into the air with his fist reared back. Unfortunately, Blifit saw him too soon. She spun around and smacked the diminutive thief in the side of the head with an outstretched fist. Now Crookie was sprawling around hopelessly on the icy floor. One pest remained.

"Crookie!!" Crania shouted in fear. The thief didn't answer, but Blifit was starting to float towards the Kremling woman with large arms hanging out like a bear's. Crania snarled and picked up her wrench. "You despicable wretch!!" she yelled and charged foward. She attempted a swing to the behemoth's gut, but two tentacles suddenly whipped around her neck and pulled her off the ground. The wrench slipped away from the woman's fingers, clattering to the frozen ground. Now Crania was struggling in vain to pry Blifit's ghostly hands off of her neck.

"You must die," Blifit growled. "You can't leave. You can't face what's out there. I won't let you!!"

"Guys," Crania croaked weakly, "help me!!"

Still on his back, Sackle opened his eyes angrily. _Alright, Blifit,_ he thought vengefully, _I don't even care anymore. You asked for it..._

* * *

Swampic fired a meaty fist towards the wily Wartini. BOOM!! The ground exploded into a mess of grass and soil, but Wartini was still unharmed. The frog had just hopped away. Swampic angrily turned to look where he had gotten to, and the amphibian had already gotten started on another bottle of beer. 

_"YER FUN TO PLAY WITH,"_ the staggering frog stated. _"I JUST KEEP GETTING DRUNKER AND DRUNKER AROUND YOU, DON'T I?!"_

Swampic roared and slammed both fists down on his target. BAM!! Still no dice. The frog was laughing heartily.

_"THAT THE BEST YOU GOT? MAYBE YER NOT THAT BIG. MAYBE I JUST DRANK TOO MUCH..."_

Swampic snarled feriociously and began hurling a never-ending barrage of punches at the pestering toad. The ground was gradually being torn apart and some of the trees were being shattered into a million pieces, but the overgrown Swoompire still couldn't hit that frog. As for his teammate Swine on the other hand...

THUMP!! The two of Toonga and Tapoleon were now out like a couple of sacks of potatoes. They fell to the ground and a curious green ooze that had been covering their mouths and nostrils had magically slid right off their faces and onto the obese Swoompire's wrists. They turned back into his hands and he scoffed smugly. "That's what you get for tangling with the Swoompire of Gluttony..."

"Ah, yes, but what happens when you meddle with Slicer and Dicer?"

Swine looked up. Now a purple-hooded guy and his goofy-looking swordsman partner were staring him down. Behind them were another unconscious couple just like Toonga and Tapoleon: Swan and Swoosh. Swine looked genuinely agitated. "You did this?" he asked.

"That, we did!" Domino boasted. "What are you gonna do about it, fat man? Flatten us with your blubber?"

THOIP!! Cloaker was laughing until this: Swine had turned his right arm into a long beam of sticky slime and the end of it was wrapping around where Domino's face would be without that mask. The wizard was starting to slowly lose consciousness. "Sorry about that," Swine mocked, "but were you saying something about my weight just now?..."

KRISSH!! Five bloody holes had now been formed on another frog soldier's chest. He fell backwards from Duke Swuke's vicious claws, flopped onto the ground, and stayed there. Leif was bashing more people's heads in with that mace of his, but the head Swoompire wasn't interested in that. He turned around and saw how his troops were doing. Swampic was growing steadily frustrated with Wartini, Swine was taking care of Cloaker, and Swan and Swoosh had been taken care of by the former and his accomplice.

_Most likely,_ the tall Swoompire thought, _Sward is parked somewhere, resting his eyes at a key time like this..._ One frog came leaping through the air, aiming for the duke with a particularly solid metal club. The Swoompire didn't even look at him and the back of his fist had already met the man's face. BAM!! Another frog was down. _Perhaps the aliens and the Swoompires are evenly matched..._

At the moment, Chogun was wishing he could say the same for him and Welt. He had been running tirelessly for an indefinitely long amount of time now. Trying desperately to catch his breath, he remained in the shadow of one of the larger trees in the woods. Shimmering in his hand was the Energy Wand. Badly, he wanted to send a blast of pure pain hurtling towards the demonic frog, but he couldn't tell where he was now. The bug man kept his eyes peeled. Had he really lost him?...

_"SURPRISE!!!_

"AUGGH!!" KA-BOOM!! Chogun hadn't been thinking. He heard that pest's voice, turned, and fired. Now another tree in the Forest of Dheos was destroyed and Welt was still nowhere in sight. The bug looked around fervently.

_"YOINK!!"_

The wand had been snatched right out of Chogun's hands. He instantly spun around in a panic. Now both his weapons were in the deranged Welt's hands.

_"OOH, NOW YOU'RE HELPLESS,"_ the frog taunted. _"AND DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS IS..."_ The amphibian waved Chogun's Energy Wand. He looked at it quizzically and somewhat fearfully. _"IT'S STAR ROCK. IS THERE A LOT OF IT ON THE MOON? WHO KNOWS, BUT IT CAN BE USED TO MAKE STAR WARRIORS... AND POWERFUL SPELLS. BUT SOMETHING DUMB LIKE THIS AINT GONNA DO SQUAT TO ME. YOU KNOW WHY?!"_

Chogun said nothing and merely kept his frozen gaze on the frog.

_"BECAUSE IT'S NOTHING BUT MIND POWER!!"_ Welt explained. He tossed both weapons aside, much to the dismay of Chogun. _"YOU NEED THIS,"_ said the frog as he flexed a muscle on his left arm and held it tight. _"LIFE. IT'S NOT JUST WHAT MAKES YOUR HEART BEAT; IT'S WHAT GIVES YOUR MUSCLES AND EVEN YOUR SKIN THE WILL TO FIGHT..."_

Welt flipped his hands into delicate positions and stepped towards Chogun like a skilled martial artist. _"IN OTHER WORDS, LITTLE MUTANT,"_ the frog continued, _"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO SENT YOU; YOUR BRAIN IS NO MATCH FOR MY BODY!!"_

BOOM!! The treasure-hunter couldn't dodge it. Welt's fist came crashing through the air like lightning and it detonated into his chest. The transformed man was sent reeling. Chogun quickly clasped onto the ground with his claws to stop himself and he promptly regurgitated right on the ground. Welt cackled at him. Dazedly, the man looked up. Welt's fist was still out, but it along with its arm was now wrapped up in coils of magic light green bolts of electricity. Chogun gasped. He remembered something similar happening to him the fateful day he turned into this insect version of himself...

_"WELL, YOU LITTLE ABOMINATION?"_ Welt threatened. _"DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO CONQUER THE POWER OF LIFE?!"_

The frog thrust out his left fist and rocketed it into the tree. BOOM!! The blow connected harshly. The vibrations shook throughout the entire plant and its trunk split open. The whole thing went toppling over and it was all thanks to Welt. Chogun turned blue in the face.

_I don't know if I can do this,_ the man thought. _I feel like I've just awakened a sleeping dragon..._

Davey stayed high up in the trees. He leaned his back firmly against the trunk and his gun was very close to his ever perspiring face. His eyes darted back and forth as he looked down. He looked as though he were trapped in a nightmare. Then he saw a blur of purple rush by and the boy fired. TSEW!! He may have burnt a few leaves to a crisp, but that was it. The boy looked around some more. He saw the black boot of a soldier. TSEW!! He broke a branch right off. Then he saw a pistol aiming towards him.

TSEW!! Both guns were fired at once. Davey didn't have even a second to pray; he was instantly hit.

With an unfathomable amount of pain coursing through his right arm, the gun flipped out of Davey's hand and he went flying off the tree. In the next two seconds, he'd hit the ground, but at least there was nothing there but soft grass...

WHAM!! Davey landed painfully and he rolled onto his back. Everything was spinning. He felt like he had just been hit by a building. Whatever it was that got him, it had become clear to the young man now: it was practically an inevitability that these aliens would make it to the title of "Thirteenth God of Chaos," though he only knew scarcely of such a group...

TSEW!! Davey's eyes snapped open. Was that an O-shaped laser he had just seen? He had seen all kinds of lasers now, but...

"Snifit?!" the boy called out in a shaky voice. "Is that you?!"

"Snifit, you say?" Davey shrunk. He realized there was still no one around here except the twisted Trigg. The gun-toting alien was slowly striding in his direction, talking from a distance. "Sorry, friend, but I'm not him. I did fight him once, though..."

Trigg stopped walking. Davey gasped. _He knows Snifit?!..._

"It all happened during the final battle one year ago," the alien explained. He started fiddling with his pistol absentmindedly. "While the captain was left with a strange woman named Princess Shokora and the commander a man named King Carroo, I got an 8-Bit by the name of Snifit. I told him he couldn't keep cowering behind the name of Tondariya forever. He told me he was only fighting out of concern for his friends. An admirable individual, I must admit..."

Trigg's words were only floating in and out of Davey's ears. Very little of what he was saying was making any sense. _He knows Snifit??..._

"We couldn't finish the battle, though," Trigg went on. "We ended up suddenly piling into the spaceship for our own good. Apparently, someone or something was 'gonna blow'. I don't know how Snifit survived, but he did...

"Months later, we deployed our attack on Thornton in Mario Land. The commander was able to bag a little Magikoopa that time, but me..." The alien stopped and laughed. "I got Snifit. What a coincidence, eh? We were glad to see each other. We had been honing our skills since our last confrontation. Now the time came for their test...

"I was surprised by the growth he had undergone these past few months. However, it wasn't enough. You see, I had something he didn't..." Trigg stopped fiddling with his gun for one second. He pointed it directly at Davey's face. The boy became petrified with fear.

TSEW!! BAM!! Davey's eyes were still shut. All he felt was some hot clumps of dirt falling on top of him out of nowhere. Then he forced his eyes open and saw what happened: a moat had instantly been formed around him. It looked like his outline.

Trigg twirled the gun around in his right hand confidently. "I found out how to force my will into non-living things. That Welt may look down on such a thing, but it can work wonders. For instance, it's how I can see things I'm not even facing. It's how I can change the shape of the laser I'm firing." The gunner stopped flipping the gun around and grinned. "I can even control how fast or how slow the light goes, so my prey can never tell how or when he's going to die..."

Davey's foggy mind struggled to comprehend the situation. _He is,_ he thought, _too much..._

"You get it now, I see," Trigg gloated. He pointed the gun right back at the boy's face. "Snifit didn't stand a chance. I captured him and got promoted for it. A better symbol of great power, I know of none..."

Davey stared down Trigg's barrel, too scared to move. _This can't be happening,_ he thought. _The aliens have already won..._

Meanwhile, White Rose was defiantly holding his sword in his hands and beckoning the next Swoopzilla with his glaring eyes. The giant beast hissed and swooped down to snatch his torso in its fangs. Once the knight saw this, he jumped into the air, flipped onto the monster's back, and swung his sword. SHINK!! The creature's unsightly head flew off, spraying a thick, dark liquid everywhere. The rest of the body went crashing into the ground like a flaming airplane, but the swordsman just jumped off at the right time.

Now only one Swoopzilla was left. It hovered high up in the air, just below the leaves. It met its eyes with White Rose's. What happened next was a deafening shriek. The winged creature had opened its mouth up wide and now waves of pure sound were blazing through the air and ensnaring the mysterious White Rose in a field of deadly vibrations. The warrior concentrated fiercely to hold his ground and reach for his wand.

_Fire burns everything,_ the brave man thought and he thrust forward a powerful maelstrom of flames and death. They bore through the sound waves like meteorites against the atmosphere. The knight forced out one last surge of concentration and the barrier was broken.

FWOOSH!! The entire bat went up in flames. It flapped its wings desperately, but that only made the fire worse. Finally, the creature plummeted to the ground as an oversized, lifeless fireball... which was starting to set wood and blades of grass on fire. White Rose stared at this in fright.

_I underestimated this thing,_ he thought, looking at the wand in horror _Now I've caused a forest fire!!_

The knight jumped back suddenly. The flames were now starting to sweep towards his feet. The unforgiving glow of blue and red was everywhere now, and the swordsman wasn't sure what to do next. _We need help,_ he thought, starting to make a break for it. _Badly..._

Presently, Xoshi and Trann were putting on quite the show. No matter what they did, the audience ate it up. They all yelled and cheered as though this were the fight of the century. Trann thought otherwise, though. The two of him and his opponent may have been turning this battlefield into a constantly exploding spiral of gold and purple fireworks, but, to him, this was no more than child's play.

"Come on, you runt!!" Trann yelled to Xoshi as he easily swerved away from another flying ball of gold fire. "Show me what you're REALLY capable of!! Show me that you can take out a single man!! No, show me you can take on an entire army!! DO IT, NOW!!"

Xoshi grit his teeth and hurled one last golden fireball at his enemy's face. This one missed as well, but he didn't pay for it. Trann then swung his scythe at him and CRACK!! It stopped in midair, or so the alien thought. He looked closer and noticed how Xoshi was now holding a spear made out of golden, sparkling energy. The scythe couldn't penetrate through it. Trann grinned.

"That's it, hero," the alien taunted. "Pull that power out! Blow me away!!"

Xoshi furled his brow and flung Trann's scythe away. Then he swung at him with his sharp staff. Trann dodged it and started fighting back with his own weapon. Now the two were a cyclone of power and metal repeatedly clashing. The audience was growing steadily more eager...

Up in the trees, Tobi and Holy Troopa were unable to keep their eyes off the battle themselves. At this point, not even they could tell who was going to win.

"Who is that person?" Tobi asked, stricken with awe. "How can he stand fighting a man like Trann? He must have monstrous strength!!"

"That's Xoshi from Yoshi's Island," Holy explained. "Me and my friends dealt with him a little while ago. Rumor has it, he's on the same level as the man who took down Bowser, Yoshi, descendant of the original Yoshi. Personally, I prefer to keep away from a man like that..."

"I see..."

Trann went for the hundredth swing. It was crashing down on Xoshi when he thrust his spear upward and snagged the thing's blade with it. Using all his strength, he forced the weapon to slam into the ground the opposite way. Trann could only barely hold on. Xoshi kept his eye on him and fired another attack. He used his spear in the ground to swing himself in a circle and blast both feet into the enemy's chest.

BAM!! Now Trann was sprawling away from his weapon. All according to Xoshi's plan. He ripped his spear out of the ground and started marching towards his sinister opponent. Trann, however, was still going. SCREE!! Xoshi barely got away in time. Even though he was on his back now, Trann was again firing multiple shots of his flaming skulls. The brown Yoshi danced around them for a bit, then decided to improvize. He reared his arm back and sent the spear flying.

THUNK!! The crowd gasped. Trann stopped firing his skulls. Instead, he was now clutching at the golden spear lodged in the right side of his chest. Xoshi stared at his suffering spitefully. He felt it wouldn't matter if such a man died right then and there. But then he started laughing...

"Wonderful!!" Trann wailed. "This is WONDERFUL!! I've finally found the perfect fighter!! Countless battles I've fought, and of all of them, the one with the brown Yoshi is the kicker!! That seat next to the commander is as good as mine. I've never felt so alive!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!"

Xoshi stared at the maniacal alien in a cold sweat. He couldn't tell if he was winning this fight or not.

Trann stopped laughing, pulled himself up, and ripped the golden spear out of his chest. The instant he did so, the magical weapon disintegrated into dust in the air. Then he forced himself to stand up in spite of the bleeding hole in his chest. "WELL?!" he called out to all the aliens in the audience. "Let's do this. One little Yoshi... and we will have everything!! Money, power, a throne amongst the elite! We will become beacons of victory for the Gonnic Gang! And when our captain seizes the universe, we will have the power to claim what is ours! We will be UNSTOPPABLE!!"

"Unstoppable," the aliens in the crowd started to murmur. Xoshi looked around at them. They were all mumbling the word as though it had been centuries since the last time anyone spoke it. The more they said it, the more excited they became. They were even starting to pick their weapons back up, their eyes gleaming with insanity.

"Unstoppable..." Xoshi looked harder. Now even the aliens he and the two Spookalings had taken down earlier were getting off the ground, charged up with a new fighting spirit. More and more aliens with that murderous look were starting to crowd the Yoshi. He felt like his darkest fears were starting to come true.

"Unstoppable! Unstoppable!!" It was like a chant now, and all of it was aimed towards Xoshi. Was he really going to survive this?

In the middle of the chanting, Trann threw his arm out, pointed at Xoshi, and screamed at the top of his lungs. "ANNIHILAAAAATE!!!"

Xoshi blinked and instantly regretted it. In the next second, all he could see was flashes of purple and brandishing weapons. It was all around him and it was gradually ripping him apart. He could feel his skin being hacked at with knives, steel bats plowing into his gut, and even sets of teeth biting into his tail. These aliens had become ten times stronger than their normal selves, and Xoshi was at their mercy.

_Like that, hero?_ Trann thought exhaustedly as he slowly knelt to the ground, panting heavily. _I can take take away people's lives just as easily as I can give it right back to them. A power more fit for royalty than even anything Wart could shell out!! Now fall to the darkness and become our slave..._

In the middle of the blood fest, Xoshi was slowly losing it. _Beel!!_ he called out desperately. _Quick! Tell me what to do!! I'm going to die!!_

_Xoshi, I'm afraid there's only one thing I can do, and it's not a pretty sight..._

_I don't care!! Just do it!!_

_Alright..._

* * *

Back in the cave, the danger was reaching its peak. Crania was still trapped in Blifit's merciless claws and her face was starting to turn blue. Just a few more seconds of this torment, and it'd all be over for her. Sackle hardly knew her, but he still felt the urge to stop all this. He got off the ground, unsheathed eight more knives, and prepared for the final blow. 

_Alright, Blifit,_ he thought grimly. _Time to-_

-CRACK!! A loud noise disrupted the thief's senses. He couldn't tell from where it came, but there was still a woman in dire need of saving right in front of him.

_Whatever,_ he thought as he squatted and aimed for the heart. _It's over..._

CHING!! Blifit's eyes widened. Her grip loosened and Crania fell to the icy floor, finally free from the woman's grasp. She was clutching at her throat, coughing and wheezing, when she looked up and saw Sackle had not moved a muscle. He was still standing there in his pre-attacking stance, only now there was a look of shock on his face. Crania looked at Blifit and saw why this was.

The job had already been done. There was now a big frosty icicle sticking out of Blifit's chest. The ghostly woman was still writhing in pain from the blow. Then SHUNK! The frozen weapon was pulled out from behind and Blifit keeled over in midair. A pale blue light began to surround her. The femme fatale had been defeated. Her victor was standing right behind her, giant icicle in hand.

"That oughtta teach ya to mess with my friends," Crookie spat. He tossed the icicle aside and it shattered into a dozen frigid pieces.

"Crookie!!" Crania breathed excitedly. "You did it!!"

"I did??" Crookie looked at what had become of Blifit. Instead of the hulking blue monster they had all fought, she now seemed to be nothing more than that strange light floating in midair. "Oh," Crookie said, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I did..."

"Yeah, way to go, genius," Sackle grumbled. "You just killed a close friend of mine!!"

Crookie looked horrified. "Uh... I did?..."

_"You didn't..."_

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on the light. Finally, it had taken on a form. It resembled the original Blifit, back when she was still alive, but she still floated like a ghost. Around her, the ice was starting to melt. The three thieves were awed by this sudden phenomenon. Then the fading woman began to speak to the leader.

_"Sackle, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. When that explosion hit, I took it head-on. When I came to, I was on the brink of death. I was willing to give anything to have my life back. That was when a man named King Carrot approached me..."_

"King Carrot??" Sackle repeated. "Ruler of Vedgia??"

_"That's right. He told me I could have ever-lasting life if I just offered my soul to the great King Turnip. Little did I know it takes more than blind devotion to a god to achieve ever-lasting life..._

_"In death, all I could think about was all the mistakes I made in the past. I wanted money more than anything. Because of that, I kept sticking my neck in places where it didn't belong. A woman named Merlydia even told me not to go to Vedgia... but I did anyway..."_

"Merlydia?" Crania said.

"The descendant of Merlauren, sister of Merlar and one of the greatest psychics of all time," Crookie briefly explained.

_"She told me everything... She told me a second Trondaga was coming. It's called Sahndaga and it all begins in Vedgia..._

"So that's why things have been so screwy lately," Sackle realized.

_"Sackle, I didn't want anyone to make the same mistake I did. I didn't want them attempting to take on something bigger than the entire world itself only to die before they were even ready. I began to develop the mentality that I had to do what it took to prevent anyone from doing this, even killing them. I reasoned it was better than the alternative..."_

"Blifit..."

_"But now I find I'm only reducing myself to what I've always hated all these years: someone telling you what to do and what not to do..."_

Crookie and Crania's hands were clasped together between them. They stood there silently as Sackle slowly nodded his head. "Yeah," he said. "I know what you mean..."

_"Well, Sackle... I feel I can go now. I've made up my mind: I don't care if you wanna strike it big or save the world, or whatever; just do me a favor and... remember me..."_

Crookie and Crania looked greatly saddened. They had only recently met this woman, and already she was disappearing. Sackle, on the other hand, he just looked directly into the woman's eyes and nodded. "You got it, babe."

Blifit bowed to her former partner as though it were the end of the play. She stayed in that position until all that was left of her was a few sparkling snowflakes hanging in the air. They gently floated to the ground and disappeared into the cold water. Sackle knelt down and took off his hat. Crookie did the same thing. Crania just slipped off her bandanna.

_Don't worry, Blifit,_ Sackle thought, _once we make those millions of coins... we'll use them to create a place where none of this trite exists... just like how we always wanted..._

* * *

BAM!! Guido finally got a good hit in against the brutish Slam. When the lumbering alien was about to swing his hammer down onto the Mario's head, he flipped into the air and socked him right in the jaw with a kick. The ogre was staggering backwards now, but Guido could tell this beast was still far from defeated. The huge silver man promptly stopped reeling, shook his head, and fixed his demonic gaze once more upon the smaller Guido. 

"It hurt me," the creature mumbled. "I didn't know it could do that..."

Guido's face turned red with frustration. He yelled out an infuriated battle cry and came stampeding towards his larger opponent. CHING! The hammers were clashing once more. Each blow came as quickly as the last, yet, just as quickly, they were blocked and countered. Would this fight never end?

FWOOSH!! Both fighters jumped back suddenly. An unmistakable pain had just swept past their feet and it almost immediately dawned on them. "A forest fire," Slam mumbled. "How interesting..."

Guido looked around in a panic. The fire was slowly engulfing all the grass around them, and even the leaves. In the worst case scenario, this dark and foreboding forest would quickly become a peckish inferno...

WHAM!! The sensation of cold hard steel and blazing flames slammed into Guido's chest. It hurt like a thousand knives. The Mario was sent careening through the air and into a deeper section of the woods. This one being the source of the raging flames...

Slam grinned to himself as the flames licking the end of his now glowing red hammer faded away. "How I love the fire," the monster said to himself. "Always gets the job done..."

Guido forced himself off the ground. He still couldn't believe how badly that burned. Now the entire front section of his outfit was scorched black and he could only imagine the damage on the inside. Then the soldier snapped out of his daze and noticed how much bigger the flames behind him were. His eyes widened in horror.

"GUIDO!!"

The man jolted. He didn't notice how White Rose had been sprinting towards him this whole time. "Wh-Who are you? How do you know my name?" he stammered.

The knight skidded to a stop and explained it quickly. "It doesn't matter. We need your wand's power. Now."

"My wand??" Guido blurted. "I don't have a wand!!"

White Rose stared at him. "Xoshi didn't give it to you?"

Guido looked at him quizzically. "You mean that brown Yoshi?"

CRACK!! A huge tree suddenly broke in half and crashed to the ground in flames. Now the path was blocked for Guido and White Rose.

_This is getting from bad to worse,_ White Rose thought darkly...

SHING! SHING! SHING! Cloaker swung his sword non-stop at the gelatinous Swine. Not a single one of the blows had any effect. Each time, the blade went right through him like green jelly and the Swoompire remained unarmed. Frustration quickly crept up on the alien's senses.

"I must defeat you!!" Cloaker panted. "I must defeat you!! I MUST!!"

BAM!! The silver alien got a solid fist square in the nose. Cloaker looked dazed for a moment, then dropped his sword, and fell to the ground in a heap. Swine huffed exasperatedly at the unconscious man. "Useless little twerps," he griped. "They're hardly even worth my time..."

WHAP! A cold hand suddenly latched onto a scruff of the rotund Swoompire's robe. He looked behind him and saw a barely alive Domino pushing himself to his limits. "You fiend!!" the wizard croaked. "Cloaker, dear friend, I shall avenge your pain!!"

FOOM!! "AAAUUUGHHH!!" Domino instantly leapt off of Swine and started rolling around in the grass madly. Swine was confused for one second, then a tad worried. He looked up and noticed the fire that was spreading throughout the woods.

_Not like this,_ thought the Swoompire of Gluttony...

Leif and Duke Dwuke were also becoming worried about this newfound problem. It left them disoriented and open, but, for the moment, no new frogs were going to dare taking them on.

"Where did this fire come from?!" Leif demanded.

"Count Dheos, your beautiful forest," Swuke stated distantly.

"HEY!!"

The witch-hunter and the warlock turned and faced another problem: two more frogs were left: Wax and Wane. In spite of everything, they were looking to be pretty confident in themselves.

"Don't think the battle's over just yet, Tronnajans!!" Wax proclaimed.

"As long as there's still some life in these bones, the Gonnic Gang will never fall!!" Wane declared.

Leif and the duke stared at this new duo. Their eyes exchanged looks for one second, and then they decided on two more targets. Leif lifted up his wand and Swuke lifted up his hand. Ready as ever, the two amphibians put up their fists, not knowing of the crushing that awaited them. Then...

Swampic and Wartini heard it. Guido and White Rose heard it. Swine, Domino, Leif, Duke Swuke, the Spookalings, the aliens... All of them heard it coursing through their ears: the sound of running water. Quiet at first, and then began its ascension into the disastrous sound of a tidal wave bigger than anything. When the fighters stopped to look, they saw life and death rushing towards them like a gigantic sideways avalanche. The forest was being flooded...

_Hmm..._ Slam thought as the water came like a massive hurricane. _I wonder if I'll survive this?..._

FFFOOOMMM!!!...

For what felt like an entire day in just one minute, everyone in the dreaded Forest of Dheos remained trapped beneath the merciless onslaught of a runaway ocean. Those who were quick enough, held on to something tight and held their breaths...

The storm was over now. The sudden explosion of water was drifting off into the distance, and everything had been reduced to utterly drenched shambles. Broken tree branches, leaves, blades of grass, clumps of dirt, unconscious fighters... They littered the entire forest. Only the few that were still standing could wipe the water from their eyes and look once more at their opponents. Now, albeit sopping wet from the ordeal, Foreman Spike, Oglian, King Boo, and others could restart the fighting. The forest was silent for one second only for the war to pick back up again. All this, and the deranged Razeil continued laughing it up on his little tree branch.

"FIGHT!!" the crazed Raven crowed. "FIGHT UNTIL YOU DIE!!"

Big Boo shot himself forward like a white cannonball and blasted another silver alien in the gut. Jax threw a punch at one, but the man caught his fist in his own and kicked the dwarf's face in. Dorreen knocked another one upside the head with her tail and Capt. Spatula was biting into one of their heads. Princess Cherry Blossom was still looking on at her father in worry...

Swine, Duke Swuke, and Leif were all still standing, but they also looked greatly agitated. By now, Domino had stopped running around like crazy, but both he and Cloaker had still been swept away by the tide. As for Wax and Wane, although having been ready to fight with everything, they too had gone with the water. Only a select few fighters remained standing.

"It was nice fighting with you," Duke Swuke said curtly as he twirled some locks of sopping wet hair out of his eyes with his pointy fingernails. "Now I must leave you for another day..."

The tall Swoompire strode off. Swine also had somewhere else to be. At this point, Leif was alone. He worried for the others' safety. _Only the strongest fighters are left now,_ the Viking reasoned solemnly. _I fear the worst..._

Back in the middle of the woods, the drenched Guido and White Rose remained standing around in complete shock and disbelief. "Wha... What was that?!" Guido elicited.

"I... I'm not sure," White Rose replied. The fire was gone now, but the two heroes did not feel they were in the clear now. Something still seemed to be amiss...

Guido and White Rose snapped out of it. Somewhere behind them, they swore they could hear the sound of a man's hoarse coughing. Now worried, the two travelers looked each other in the eye and took off towards the source of the sound. With any luck, they'd be able to help at least one person this day...

Deeper into the forest, the purple aliens were starting to back away in fright. Even Trann looked spooked. One second, a gigantic tidal wave was gushing through the forest. The next, their brown Yoshi of an opponent was glowing strangely with a fierce golden light. He almost looked as though he had become a star. Even the Yoshi himself was awestricken.

_Beel,_ he thought, _what's going on??_

_I'm going to do something I've only done once before,_ the Star Warrior replied. _Now listen closely because I may never get a chance to tell you this again..._

_WHAT?!..._

Guido and White Rose had found the source of the coughing. Their search had led them to a person lying in the grass, struggling to breathe. His body was covered in countless bruises, cuts, and wounds. The Yoshi looked as though he had just fought the nightmare to end them all and had only been able to return from it barely alive. Guido and White Rose helped the purple Yo'ster sit up.

"Are you alright, friend?" White Rose beckoned. "Speak to us!"

"Th-Thank you," Naji rasped. Apparently, even his throat was badly suffering from numerous wounds. "I just wanted to speak with one last person... Anyone... That's all..."

"No, you shouldn't talk!!" Guido insisted. "We're gonna get you some help. Just hold on!!"

Naji laughed weakly and coughed some more. "No... I'm pretty sure this is it..."

Meanwhile, Xoshi's body was starting to glow even brighter. The aliens were still petrified with fear and confusion. _After this, you must head for Angel Mountain and the Gulpit Tunnel,_ Beel explained, doing his best to make this quick. _Find Jeremiah and Christopher, give them the Air Wand and Ice Wand. After that, only the oncoming evil remains. You will find out who it is soon enough..._

_Beel, what are you saying?!_

_I only regret that I have not yet finished my battle with Titotal Gonnic... Then again, it's likely he does not remember Princess Shokora..._

"I just need your names," Naji whispered. "That's it..."

Guido stared at the Yoshi with quivering eyes, but complied with his request just the same. "I'm Guido. Guido Acqua."

"People just call me the White Rose."

"Alright then, Guido..." Naji weakly lifted one hand up to his face. He slipped the slightly scuffed-up shades off and placed them on Guido's ears and nose. "Kame Shades," he said. "Your enemies'll never be able to sneak attack you again. And you..." For White Rose, the purple Yoshi took off his blanket. "It's a Koopa Cloak. Magikoopas use'em sometimes. It allows you to turn your elemental spells into any kind of element. This one works on fire-types... like me..."

White Rose nodded. He unfastened the white cape around his own neck and tied on the new one, but he put it on backwards. The knight preferred the white side to be the one on top.

"Two things," Naji garbled. "Tell my friends on Lava Lava Island, Noshi and Fyooshi, that I'll miss them..."

"Don't worry," Guido said quietly as he poked his new shades so they'd balance on his forehead instead. "We'll do as you tell us..."

"And if you ever find a guy named Cutlass... Tell him Naji sent ya... Then kick his sorry ass. I'd appreciate it..."

"Um..."

"Don't worry," White Rose responded. "You have our word..."

Naji smiled. "Thanks, guys..."

The moon was out. The downed Wereyoshi could see it hanging loftily above the leaves. He pried one weakened hand off the ground and reached out to it, begging it for power. He didn't want to help the one called Xoshi, but he knew he had no choice. "Come on," the Wereyoshi urged. "Why won't it work?? WHY?!..."

By now, Trann was starting to become increasingly frustrated. The enemy may have been glowing a strange color for some time now, but that's all he was doing. His minions were given an order, and they weren't obeying it. "IMBECILES!!" the power-hungry alien shrieked. "GET HIM!! HE'S NOTHING MORE THAN A MERE YOSHI!!!"

"He's right!!" one purple alien yelled. He brandished a spear and yelled heartily. "LET'S GET HIM!!"

"YEEAAHH!!!"

The aliens were charging once more. Xoshi's heartbeat was erratic. He couldn't tell who was going to die. _Xoshi,_ Beel added, _I'm going to tell you something my good friend Shmy Guy once told us..._

Naji suddenly bent forward and hacked crazily. Large amounts of blood were flying out of his mouth and splattering on the ground. Guido and White Rose urged him to get a hold of himself. "I'm alright," he insisted. "I'm just gonna tell you something a friend of mine once said..."

_"Whatever you do..."_

Stars started flying rapidly off of Xoshi's body. Naji's eyes were starting to roll back into his head...

_"Don't let the world fall into the wrong hands..."_

BBBOOOOOOOOOMMM...

* * *

Night had long since fallen. Only a veil of dark blue and thousands of little stars hung high above over the weary heads of the Clover Kingdom. From a distance, things were peaceful like a small trail of running water. 

However, right now, one thing was shining even brighter than the full moon in the sky. Even from far away, the Three Boombateers could see it. Deep inside the infamous Forest of Dheos, a new star had been born. It was as big as the temple on Kariboo Island and its radiance was more brilliant than gold. All three of the dubious characters were observing the phenomenon miles away, and they were rendered speechless.

"Ren?" Goomba Prince asked. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea, Prince."

"It's Xoshi," Razule stated. His two partners started staring at him. "He has now become one with Sahndaga..."

* * *

Swampic and Wartini winced from the light. Swine and Duke Swuke were also reeling from it. All of the fights had once again come to a standstill. First, it was because of the water. Now it was because of the star... 

All three of King Boo, Oglian, and Katana had become majorly disoriented. Wart and Foreman Spike were as well, but they quickly decided they weren't going to make the same mistakes as their opponents. The battle was gradually reaching its end...

Xoshi stood firmly with both arms covering his eyes. Slowly, he opened them up and put his arms down. Finally, he could see what the result of this spell was: a whole battlefield full of dead purple space aliens. Their bodies were motionless and their limbs and weapons were strewn all over the place. Spears, guns, and swords alike were covered in purple blood. Yoshiki and the Wereyoshi were nowhere to be found. Xoshi's body was becoming increasingly sweaty. He felt like he was starting to suffocate...

"You're in it now, hero..."

Xoshi spun around. His clothes had been torn to shreds and wounds veiled his entire body, but Trann was still there. He was crouching down and staring at his brown rival from atop a tree branch on the other side of the opening.

"You've become a marked man," Trann declared. "I can see it all now... From this day forward, your name's going to be spreading all across the lands like a plague. Soon, everyone will fear the name of the man who singlehandedly took down 30 of Titotal Gonnic's best men in an instant. And those who don't fear it... They'll want you... They'll come after you, hero. They want that same power you used to defy death. You'll have to outdo yourself thousands of times, over and over again, just to stay alive. In time, you'll find yourself trapped in a maze of endless torment, and the only way out is to tell the heavens they won't be taking your life for another million years... or ever... That's the life I see in you...

"Hero... Tell me your name..."

Xoshi stared sternly into Trann's eyes and stated it. "Xoshi. Xoshi Quasar."

"Xoshi Quasar..." Trann chuckled to himself with a devious grin on his face. Finally, he stopped and held out his hands as if to reach out to Xoshi. "Welcome to the real world..."

WHUMP!! The demented alien fell out of the tree, crashed to the ground below, and stayed there. Now Xoshi was alone. He hesitantly lifted up his four-fingered hands and stared at them in desperation. _Beel,_ he thought, _tell me what to do..._

There was no answer.

_BEEL?!_

Still no answer. Xoshi dropped his hands to his side and fell to his knees. He grit his teeth, smashed both fists into the ground, and hung his face so low, all he could see was black. Tears were streaming from his eyes...

Meanwhile, Tobi and Holy were sitting in their tree with dropped jaws. The last vision they had just beheld had become burned into their minds. Now they didn't know what anything was anymore.

"We've gotten ourselves in too deep," Tobi said fearfully.

"No, WE'VE gotten in too deep!!" Holy argued.

"I've got to tell Wart."

"I've got to tell King Boo!!"

The two jumped down from the tree, landed in front of the resting Sward, and sped off. The slow-moving Swoompire awoke with a start and saw the two running away. "Heh, it's raining dwarfs and Para Troopas now? What's next?" The Swoompire stood up and stretched. He grabbed his cane, adjusted his tophat, and began to walk away himself. "Well... Might as well see what Duke Swuke's up to..."

BAM!! Foreman Spike finally got a good hit in against the skilled Katana. His sledgehammer had gotten the alien hard in the side of the head. Now his sword was out of his hands and the man was lying on the ground with a big bump on his head.

"Gotcha, you whelp!!" the foreman gloated. He proudly stashed his hammer away and started pointing to the alien's face. "Now tell me where Cutlass is!!" Katana didn't say anything. His mouth was hanging open, but it was just as silent as his weapon. "Uh... Guy?" Spike said. "Come on, I din't hit you THAT hard... Well, maybe I did, but... Ah, screw it..." The foreman finally walked away and left Katana alone. "I wonder how Oglian's doing..."

SHLUCK!! Oglian was in a bind... literally. The instant she let her guard down, Wart's huge, sticky tongue was wrapped around her body. Even her arms and hands were stuck. The Sky Leopard, Scarvus, could only flop to the ground lifelessly now. "Old lady!!" King Boo yelled.

"Don't worry about me," the Magikoopa said with a subtle smile. "You're still alive, aren't you?"

CRACK!! Wart's tongue snapped loudly as it rocketed right back into his mouth, taking Oglian's body with it. Both King Boo and Foreman Spike had seen this, yet both could only sit back and stare in horror. GLUMP!! Wart swallowed the kindly old witch and his mouth spread into a malicious toothy smile

_"ALL OF YOU,"_ said the giant frog, _"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE..."_

"RRAAWWGGHH!!" King Boo and the foreman screamed bloody murder and started bolting towards this heartless beast. Then...

"WAAAARRTT!!"

"KIIING BOOOO!!"

BAM!! Tobi had leapt out of nowhere, landed atop Foreman Spike's head, and smashed him into the ground like a Goomba. Holy Troopa, on the other hand, had flown right over them both along with Wart. Now he was in front of his ghostly superior. Both he and the alien were babbling incoherently in front of their leaders.

"We gotta get outta here!!" Holy blurted.

"There's a guy here, and we can't take him!!" Tobi confessed.

"We're as good as dead!!"

"You gotta do something!!"

"ALRIGHT, FINE!!" King Boo yelled. Both Holy and Tobi were silent now. "Get the others. We're getting out of here. I don't think we'll be able to last another minute here, anyway."

"Yes, sir!!" Holy Troopa saluted his boss and flew away. King Boo almost immediately started following his example.

"THIS AINT OVER, WART!!" he called back as he flew away. "MARK MY WORDS: YOU WON'T DIE PEACEFULLY!!"

Finally, both the ghosts were gone. Only Wart and Tobi were left. The giant amphibian of the pair looked around. Only now did he realize how many of his troops had been taken out. The frogs were nearly gone, and all four of Toonga, Tapoleon, Cloaker, and Domino were unconscious. He could see Wartini was still battling Swampic, but Swine and Swuke had recently joined the side of the tremendous Swoompire. Things weren't looking good.

However, Swan and Swoosh were also down and a good portion of the silvers were still going at it with the ghosts. As for the others, they couldn't be seen right now, but Wart held faith in their victories. Nonetheless, Tobi had still come to him with urgent news: they were losing this fight.

"Sir?" the diminutive alien squeaked.

Wart took a deep breath and bellowed out a terrifying roar that resonated throughout the entire forest. _"PROUD MEMBERS OF THE GONNIC GANG!!!"_ he raged, louder than a tornado. Tobi was covering his ears. _"FALL BACK!! THE BATTLE ENDS HERE!!!"_ Tobi heard it, Wartini heard it, and the silvers heard it. The invaders of the Forest of Dheos were finally starting to clear out...

THUNK!! Welt fired the axe at Chogun. The weapon landed too close to his head and became lodged in the ground. The wand was thrown on top of his chest.

_"HERE'S YOUR STUFF BACK, WEAKLING,"_ the insane frog grumbled. _"NOW STOP BEING SUCH A WEAKLING..."_

Welt sped off. Chogun only felt slightly relieved. He tiredly lifted his hands up and covered his face with them. _I couldn't even put a scratch on him... I'm worthless..._

TSEW!! Trigg had pulled the trigger, but again, Davey was unharmed. This time, the laser just went sailing off into the night sky. Where it would wind up, no one knew. Davey just remained lying on the ground, panting and staring at his enemy.

"Well, kid," the skilled sharpshooter said, "I guess this is goodbye. It was fun messing with you..." The alien put his gun away and began to walk in the opposite direction of his victim. "Just remember," he said as he continued walking, "if you wanna reach my level... you're gonna have to reach Snifit's first..."

Davey watched exhaustedly as the alien disappeared. When the man was gone, the boy flopped his head back onto the ground and panted fervently._Snifit,_ he wondered, _what have you gone through?..._

"DAVEY!!"

The shrunken man couldn't turn his head to look, but Leif Erripipe was now running towards him. He continued to lie there, stare vacantly, and breathe. Finally, Leif was crouched down in front of him, looking very serious.

"Heaven have mercy," the Viking uttered. "What happened to you??"

Davey didn't say anything. He glanced at the muscular witch-hunter, gulped, and continued panting. Leif sighed and began to pick the boy up.

"Don't worry," he said as he slung the boy over his shoulder and began to carry him off like a dead seal. "The next time our swords cross, we'll be much stronger. I guarentee it..."

Davey barely managed a smile upon his worn-out face. _Heh heh... He's kind of like Big Guy..._

In the opening where the greatest of the battles had been fought, Xoshi was still on the ground. His cheeks were moist with salty tears and his mind was cloudy. Only two words came to him, clear as a bell._Titotal... Gonnic..._

Further away, a makeshift grave stood. It was a simple thing being comprised of only a motionless person and a white cape tossed over his body. Here, the great Naji would rest. Guido and White Rose had only known him for a few minutes, yet they owed him everything. It was he who stopped the fire and passed his will onto two new fierce warriors. All he had left to do now was to join his friends, Beel and Shmy Guy. All three had been waiting...

Meanwhile, the two who had picked up the torch in Naji's place were returning to their journey. Guido and White Rose finally found another living soul after walking away from their adventure. Their stroll led them to an opening in the woods, littered with dead purple aliens. The two were horrified by the sight. What was worse was that in the center of it all appeared to be Xoshi.

"Sir Xoshi," White Rose said in disbelief as he strode closer to the Yo'ster, "you did all this?"

"No," Xoshi mumbled, still burying his face in the ground. "Someone else did it. All I did was watch..."

"Someone else, you say..." White Rose scratched his chin. Guido continued to look around with his eyes wide in horror. "Who was it?"

"No one. I'd rather not talk about it..." Xoshi pushed himself onto his feet with his back still facing his two teammates. He wiped his face off with his arm and began to walk off. "Come on," he said, barely audible. "The others are waiting..."

Guido and White Rose watched worriedly as their leader slowly walked away with hunched shoulders. He hadn't even given them a passing glance. Was he going to be alright? Guido and White Rose looked at each other. Hesitantly, they too started to walk in Xoshi's direction...

Back at the section of the forest where the whole battle began, the last few aliens were beginning to clear out. The forest was steadily growing more empty. Wart and Tobi were two of the few that were still there.

_"SO A BROWN YOSHI NAMED XOSHI IS ON THE LOOSE,"_ the overgrown amphibian summarized. Tobi nodded. _"WELL THEN... I HAVE A SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT FOR YOU, TOBI..."_

"Yes, sir?" the alien saluted.

_"RETURN TO THE SHIP,"_ the frog instructed. _"TELL TITO EVERYTHING YOU SAW. SPARE NO DETAIL."_

"Sir, yes, sir!" Tobi saluted his commander once more, turned around, and scurried off. Wart watched for only about a second. Then he turned around and began to waddle his own way out of the forest. Along the way, he was met up with by the six Swoompires. Two of them were still unconscious.

"So, alien, what do you plan on doing now?" Duke Swuke drawled.

_"WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE PLAN,"_ the toad replied. _"WE SHYSSES WON'T HAND THE GALAXY OVER TO YOU TRONNAJANS."_

"You can have the galaxy," Duke Swuke answered. He and the other Swoompires began to walk away. "We Swoompires just want the world..."

Outside of the forest, King Boo and the remnants of his minions were hiding away behind a ledge bordering the outskirts of the Clover Kingdom. Jax, Dorreen, and Capt. Spatula were all tending to their wounds, but Big Boo and Holy Troopa were too busy flipping out in front of their crowned leader. Apparently, their two Yoshi friends had gone missing, and they weren't back yet.

"What if he's being attacked by all those Swoopers in there?! I heard those things are gigantic!!"

"What if Xoshi's gotten to her?! I'll kill that scum if I find even one mark on her!!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!!" King Boo ordered. His two subordinates became silent. The ghostly king was holding his red crown in one hand and using the other to massage his head wearily. "If you're that worried about them, go out and look for them. Yeah, and take these with you..." The royal Boo reached into his crown and pulled out two walkie talkie-type devices. He handed them to Holy Troopa and Big Boo. "Vedgie Talkies. Never leave home without'em," King Boo explained. "Just give us a call when... whenever. We'll be at Clubba Fortress."

"Alright, boss, thanks!" Holy Troopa obliged. He and Big Boo nodded to their king and they flew off into the night. King Boo tiredly put the crown back on his head and he sighed heavily. The next thing he knew, thin, delicate arms were wrapped tightly around him.

"Hey!! Cherry, what's your deal?!" the king spazzed.

"Nothing, daddy," the princess said as she placed her head against her father. "I'm just glad you're okay..."

"Sheesh..." King Boo extended a fin and rubbed his daughter's back with it. "Kids..."

In the forest, Leif now had both Chogun and Davey slung over his shoulders. He wandered into the main area and found a stagnant Foreman Spike lying face down. He kicked the man and urged him to get up. "Come on, now, we don't got all day," the Viking patronized.

"Gah... Ugh... What time is it?" the foreman mumbled as he rubbed his head.

Leif stared at the muscular foreman pityingly. Then he saw someone approaching out of his peripheral vision. He turned around and became gladdened by the return of his friends, Xoshi, Guido, and White Rose. He waved to them, being careful as to not drop Chogun in the process. Unfortunately, the trio looked as though it had seen better days. Leif was concerned.

"You all seem so melancholy," the Viking said. "Why is this?"

"Um," Guido started, but he didn't know what to say. White Rose took it from there.

"Something happened to Sir Xoshi, and he does not wish to speak of it..."

"Hm," Leif replied. "I see..."

Off to the side, the foreman was still trying to collect himself. He was standing around, rubbing the back of his head repeatedly as though he was trying to remember something. "Man, that guy must've done a number on me," he rambled. Then he remembered what happened before that: a pure-hearted old Magikoopa being eaten alive. The foreman's eyes lit up as he snapped. "THAT MURDEROUS BLOB OF MUCUS!!" he yelled. The others jumped back. "How dare he do that to Oglian?! He'll pay for this!! I swear to God, he'll pay!!!"

Leif's eyes widened to immense disbelief and lament. "That old sorceress," he said shakily. "Dead?..."

"He'll pay..." Spike held his fists tightly to the point of rattling with fury. "One way or another..."

"Um... Boss?" Guido said meekly. Spike jerked his head towards him and glared.

"WHAT?"

"I made up my mind..."

Spike looked a little confused. "You what?"

"I made up my mind," Guido repeated. He was very hesitant to look the man in the eye. "I think I'll go with these guys. I think they need the help. And I'm sure the country would appreciate it if I protected it and everyone else from such evil people like Marlukin and those space aliens..."

The foreman stared very seriously at the smaller Mario. He acted like he was ten feet tall. "Have you any idea what you're saying, Guido?" he threatened. "You were given an order. The king and the queen gave you an order. The entire country gave you an order!! Are you telling me you're turning your back on all that for these low-life strangers?!"

Xoshi finally picked his head up. Now, like White Rose, Leif, and even Guido, he was just staring at this man with relentless disgust. "You know, Spike," Guido said bluntly, looking at him in the eye for once, "I met a lot of people today. Some of them were vicious. Some were cruel. Some were just downright insane. Some of them were about 50 times worse than Kamek or any of those stupid Koopas ever could be..."

There was a pause. Guido and Foreman Spike took a moment to stare at each other intensely. Guido continued.

"But you know what? I also met people who were 50 times better than you. Then again, I guess that's not too hard to accomplish..." Foreman Spike narrowed his eyes at his former subordinate. Guido went on. "Spike, I don't care what you think of me from now on. All I ask is that you change. Because frankly, I don't think someone like you deserves to serve a great country like Mario Land..." Guido tilted his head down and shook it. He gave the foreman another piteous look. "I don't even think you deserve to avenge Oglian's death..."

Spike bore his teeth and whipped out his sledgehammer. The others gawked at him as he raised it above his head, readying a powerful blow against Guido. "I'll show you worse than Kamek!!" he seethed.

BAM!! A massive sledgehammer swung down, but Guido remained unharmed. Instead, Spike was the one who had been pounded flat into the ground. His assailant lifted his hammer back up and stared Guido down mercilessly. There were bloody scratches and torn clothes all over him, but it was unmistakable: Slam had returned.

"I must finish this," the crazed alien growled. "I must paint my hammer red with its blood..."

He raised his hammer up and everyone panicked. Xoshi just woke up, yanked out the Water Wand, and shoved it into Guido's left hand. The Mario was flabbergasted by the mystic energy he felt in his body afterwards. "What the-"

"Just use it!!" the Yoshi urged.

Slam swung downward. Guido had only a split-second to react. Relying on little more than instinct, the Mario jammed the wand towards the behemoth's torso, focused, and fired. SHAAAAHH!! A solid beam of hazardous white water exploded forth and tore straight through the trecherous Slam. The monster screamed in agony and dropped his hammer. He looked down and stared at the bloody hole in his gut.

"Mother of Mercy," the alien uttered. He fell onto his knees looking dazed. "Trann... I failed you..." BOOM. The overgrown killer landed on his face. At last, he was down for good. The others were proud of Guido's deed.

_That's the power of fate,_ White Rose silently commented. Guido just stared at the teal gem atop his new wand, overcome with awe. What was this weapon he had just received?...

FIVE DOWN  
TWO TO GO

Meanwhile, Razeil was watching interestedly as this newly formed group of six congratulated one another on a hard won battle and commenced walking out of the woods. "Hmm..." he said to himself, reflecting upon all he had seen this day. "Well, we certainly had quite a few ringers today." The Raven turned around and began hopping away from branch to branch. "Now time for some warm milk and a little shut-eye..."

* * *

On Lava Lava Island, the four of Yoshi, Fyooshi, Glishy, and Raphael were sitting around, enjoying themselves on one of the giant tree's humungous branches. This peaceful place had once belonged to the power-hungry Ren, but now it was in good hands. The four protectors of the island sat back with each other and looked at the stars. 

"So it's only a matter of time until Tondariya starts to whip out the big guns," Glishy summarized after hearing Raphael's explanation of what the Melon Bug's appearance meant.

"Yes," the giant Raven replied. "We must be prepared for that fateful day..."

"But, Raphael," the worried Fyooshi interjected, "what am I supposed to do?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm the new leader of the Yoshies," the painted dinosaur fretted. "I'm not sure if I can handle that kind of responsibility. Can't I just make someone else the leader?"

"We all want to escape our responsibilities from time to time," the Raven stated as he continued to eye the stars. "Sometimes, we feel that, in spite of everything, we're nothing more than ordinary men with scepters in our hands too big for us to wield. We'd like to pass it on to someone else, but if every leader did that... we would have none."

Fyooshi nodded. Glishy listened further and Yoshi was rubbing his chin in thought. "I know it seems like the world has turned its back on us when things like this happen," the Raven elaborated, "but ironically it is actually the world itself that is the reason behind such things. People need someone strong to look upon when a time of crisis is at hand. They need someone who can shamelessly represent them. They need someone to remind them why they're all fighting..."

Fyooshi stared intently at Raphael. "What are we all fighting for?"

"A peaceful life," the Raven answered. "What else?" Fyooshi pensively placed one hand over his mouth and hummed. "Just remember, Fyooshi," Raphael continued, "no matter what, power is only what you make of it. And don't forget that you're not the only person in this world who knows what pain feels like."

"I... I think I know what you mean..."

Yoshi watched the increasingly speculative Fyooshi interestedly. He was still trying to get the hang of this new language, but things were still starting to make a little more sense around here. _They're just like us,_ he reasoned. _They care for their family and friends because they fear something might happen to them..._

* * *

Foreman Spike was still lying on his back in the middle of the Forest of Dheos. By now, he was the only creature in there still with his eyes open. He stared at the leaves and the night sky, hearing Guido's harsh words echoing in his mind. It angered him like nothing before. More than anything, he wanted to clobber that disobedient underling of his. 

But he was no longer his underling. He was with that Xoshi guy now. He couldn't believe how the six of them would just leave him lying there like this. He wished the worst upon them. He hoped and prayed something terrible would happen to them the instant they returned to Silicon. Foreman Spike smiled to himself as he pictured the lot of them being sneak attacked and stabbed to death, if not some feat of great humiliation.

Then the foreman stopped smiling. Once again, his situation had become clear: he was alone now and he had only his tendency to abhor things without thinking to owe for it. Was this really what he had going for him? Did the Star Spirits really favor the rest of the world over the Mario Land he had always served? Was he meant to just whither away in this doomed forest?

"Heh. Not likely," the foreman said to himself. At last, he got off the ground, stretched, and massaged his wounds. "Guido, you're a bigger fool than I thought," he remarked. Slowly, he began to walk away, treading a path towards an escape from this gloomy forest. "I'll do it," he declared out loud. "I'm gonna show him Mario Land needs a tough guy like me..."

Outside the forest, Xoshi and friends were quietly walking through the night. Guido, Leif, and the unconscious Chogun and Davey were taking the lead. The brown Yoshi and the white knight were in the back.

"That tidal wave that suddenly came through the forest," Guido commented to Leif, "I didn't think I'd be able to survive it. It was almost like it spared my life on purpose!"

"Bah! Water is nothing for a Marinotropolan like myself," Leif said. "I could have fought a thousand of those frogs in such a condition."

"Sheesh! Now I'm kind of glad I had to fight that Slam guy; he could've been you!"

Guido and Leif laughed. From behind, Xoshi was smiling at them subtly. He felt proud that he could be surrounded by such admirable people.

"So, Sir Xoshi," White Rose spoke up, "what is it that really happened back there? You seemed quite distraught."

Xoshi took a deep breath and sighed. "Nothing really," he said. "It's just... I saw a great person sacrifice himself in a way I didn't think was possible. And... before he died, he entrusted all the loose-ends in his life upon me..."

"What was his final request?"

"He told me... to not let the world fall into the wrong hands..."

White Rose smiled. "Then all we have to do is stick by each other..."

Xoshi beamed. He looked ahead and saw Chogun and Davey grumbling amongst themselves, still being carried by Leif. The two had awoken thanks to the Viking laughing loudly at Guido doing an impression of the deranged Slam. Already, the Yo'ster was starting to feel a little better. He looked up to the stars and the moon hanging overhead and made a small prayer.

_Beel,_ he thought, _thanks for everything. I'll do my best to carry out your will from now on..._

* * *

As for Labyrit, he remained lying in the grass, all battered and bruised. In his daze, one thing remained clear to him: luck was not on his side this time. Once again, he had failed. That brown Yoshi only continued to get in the way of his ambitions. 

"It should be me!!" he hissed to himself. "I should be the Star Purity!! How dare he take that pendant away from me?!"

"Enough, Leeboh..."

Labyrit snapped his head up. At a dark time like this, eight people stood before him, all of them Bandits just like him. Three of them were the stone Bandits Xoshi and Leif fought. One of them was the stone Bandit White Rose fought. The rest were from Carnival Alley, including Jammit, Pammit, the Bandit with the mustache, and the silver Bandit that Davey fought.

"You!!" Labryit spat. "What are you doing here?!"

"We're regrouping, Leeboh," continued the lead stone Bandit. "Tondariya needs us. The time of her awakening is nigh..."

The lead Bandit threw up some dust from his right hand. The dust sparkled and began to swirl around the group of nine like a miniature tornado. The clique was engulfed for one second, and then the winds dissipated. The true forms of the Bandits were revealed. The stone Bandit was really Shy King, his two cronies were really the two Melon Bugs, and the other stone Bandit was really Kreezo. The silver Bandit was a hooded man that looked nearly identical to Kreezo, only his robe was silver and he had numerous guns at his disposal. Jammit was really a green hooded figure, Pammit was pink, and the other was a darker shade of pink with a mustache made out of flames. As for Labyrit, his outfit remained relatively unchanged. Essentially, he was just another man in a hood. These were the seven strongest minions of Tondariya.

"I can't go yet," the being once known as Labyrit insisted. "I can't forgive that Xoshi for taking my destiny away from me..."

"Relax, Leeboh," Shy King reassured. "If we can't exact revenge against the Yoshi... his little girlfriend in Silicon should be more than enough..."

Leeboh tilted his head downward in thought. Then he stood up and nodded. "Alright then," he said, somewhat optimistically. "I guess I could let down the charade for a little while..."

"There's a good Sandman..."

Shy King tapped the grass with his spear. Again, the white clouds appeared out of nowhere and they encased the entire group within a windy spiral. The tornado spun around, then disappeared, taking the seven hooded people and their two Melon Bugs with it. The group had flown off to another realm. Exactly where they went or when they'd return; it remained shrouded in mystery...


End file.
